The Price of Peace
by Miandrethal
Summary: "Everyone has a price that they're willing to pay for something, for that tranquility, that peace, what is your price?" Many pairings, some original chracters, some interesting stuff. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!
1. Prologue

Prologue

Relena Peacecraft sat in her dressing room staring at herself in the mirror. It had been seven years since her reign of peace had begun and today she was to give her state of the universe address like she did semi-annually.

Wonderment was written on her face, her blues eyes flashing with amazement; she couldn't believe that it had been seven years of complete peace. Actually it had been three years of complete peace and four years of adoption to a new regime. Nevertheless, peace reigned throughout the colonies and on the earth.

She stared at her twenty-three year old self and winced. Though she was established as a famous world leader and had undoubtedly changed and sculpted the universe, she felt miserable. Peace was her main objective and she should have enjoyed her accomplishment, but the stress of maintaining peace was starting to show on her face. She was still beautiful, and never wanted for admirers, but her hair was prematurely graying, and there were frown lines starting to show on her forehead and around her mouth; she was only twenty-three.  She constantly thought about giving up her spot and allowing the Democratic representatives from the various colonies to take over her positions, but she'd worked too hard to allow them that easy of a victory. This move would relieve some of the stress in her life, but it was not worth the pain of separation from her position; she had nothing else. She **was** her career. Without serving the people she believed that she would waste away, and undoubtedly she would.

Then there was Heero. She closed her eyes as she thought of the boy, now man that she'd not seen in those seven years. He was sure to have grown to be handsome and strong and as mysterious as he was when he was sixteen. She was sure that his disposition hadn't changed much, but what she loved about him was that he was unpredictable; he was the one excitement in her life, and he'd been gone for seven years. Yet, there was something that always told her that he was watching. There was always something that told her that he was close by and that he'd protect her whenever she needed him. She could just feel him she could feel his spirit.

Relena had been fine without him for the past seven years. Her and Millardo had come to be close and she'd taken his advice in many of her endeavors. She and her brother hadn't quite mended some of the broken bonds from the war, but after seven years they had an agreement. She'd even gone out with some of her many suitors. Millardo had insisted that she get away from work and out about with the people. The men that she'd been out with were nice. They were the upper-crust gentlemen that she was used to. The men were handsome and reliable and complemented her beauty, brains, and social strength to no avail, but no feeling ever compared to that she had when Heero was around, or when she felt his presence. She was stupid and she knew so, seven years was far too long to wait for someone, but she knew that he'd come back to her when he found what he was looking for. She knew that he'd always protected her; he'd promised her that.

The sound of the large clock in the hallway struck twelve noon and she stood from her seat in front of the mirror. It was time for her speech. As she opened the door she was greeted by the smile of her various bodyguards as they surrounded her, two in front and two in back. As she walked closer to the stage she could hear the roar of the crowd- the politicians, the people, the press. Everyone was waiting to scrutinize and criticize, nit-pick and mock. She was used to her political view being scoffed at and viewed as naïve, but her everlasting faith in humanity and in Pacifism was what pushed her to go on.

Upon reaching the stage her guards relented and stood guard two on each side of her. The crowd stood and music played in reverence of the fearless leader Relena Dorlian-Peacecraft. She stood in earnest and gave the signal for everyone to be seated, the crowd followed suit. The small murmurs died into nothing, the quietness filling up Relena's ears as she watched the anticipated stares from the faces of the crowd. She spoke:

"My fellow Pacifist, we, in this seventh year of complete peace must give thanks. We must give thanks to our leaders- colonial and earthling. We must give thanks to our military. But most of all, we must give thanks to ourselves." As Relena spoke about the meaning of thanks and thanks giving, a young, Democratic Representative from colony L6 listened to her drone on. True Roddy's political beliefs were opposed to Pacifism, thinking the concept naïve and outdated. She believed in Democracy, a world where Realism and Capitalistic tendencies prevailed. Democracy, unlike Pacifism evoked human nature and all the evil as well as good tendencies therein. Though for the past seven years Relena had been basically killing herself in order to maintain the very thing that she daftly believed in. Roddy Adelphia, though disapproving of Relena's beliefs truly admired that Relena would die for her cause; she knew for a fact that she'd already given up her social life for it. So, without complaint Roddy listened to the speech and took notes on some of the good points and tried not to focus on the differences between Democracy and Pacifism.

She noticed it first. It was a shiny speck of metal, gleaming in the steamy lights of the stage directly across and up from Relena. Roddy couldn't take her eyes off of it, wondering what it could be and why no one else seemed to notice that it was up there. She found herself not focusing on the speech and focusing all of her attention instead on the shiny object in the ceiling. She decided to excuse herself and try to figure out what it was; there had to be some explanation.

There was indeed an explanation. As Roddy began to walk towards the front of the stage, being careful as not seem as if she was about to attack the Vice Foreign Minister, she noticed a shuffle in the glimmering spot and also noticed a man standing tall behind it. Alarm sliced through her like a knife through butter and she began to rush towards Relena, distressing some of the crowd in her wake. However, as she barely made it towards Relena, jumping up and pushing her out of the way, a gunshot whizzed by the blonde Pacifist's ear. If Roddy hadn't been alert, they would have both gotten hit. 

The auditorium was in disarray as both Roddy and Relena ducked behind the large wooden podium and watched as people were trampled, and Relena's bodyguards fell bloodied next to them. Both women knew that they needed to get out of the auditorium, but they weren't trained in escaping; it was only by a miracle that Relena was saved.

"We've got to get out of here." Roddy screamed to Relena over the chaos of the crowd.

"We should just wait, the police should be here any minute." Relena said calmly as she huddled closer to the oak podium. Roddy agreed; if they were to stay there, help would definitely come, especially for the Vice Foreign Minister. But, before the help could arrive, a large explosion could be heard and felt. The walls shattered and most of the ceiling came crashing down around the two women and a good portion of civilians and politicians were killed. Roddy looked over to Relena, hoping that she'd have a plan as to how to escape. It was obvious that someone wanted her head. The blonde woman was somber, as if it was her last day on earth. Relena was calm and collected, her eyes glassy as if she were about to weep for someone other than herself; she'd given up all hope and it was written all over her face. Roddy inadvertently gave up hope with her. 

The auditorium, once a beautiful place of red velvet curtains and gold-plated box seats, was now a staunch reminder of how horrible things can be. The red velvet curtains were smudged with white dust from the crashed ceiling. Dead bodies abound the room, some with a visage of terror permanently embedded on their faces. The room was in a haze of gloom and filth and it was eerily quiet. It was the silence of the dead, the silence of pure and contrived evil. It was the calm before the storm.

Roddy watched in horror as a she saw a person move through the haze and fog of dust. The large cloud leaving a white haze as thick as London fog over the auditorium, her lungs were filled to capacity with the gunk and she coughed haggardly to dispose of the dust. Relena's face was even more somber and Roddy could see the beginnings of tears starting to form in her blue eyes. Roddy could also see a tall, lithe figure move closer and stealthily through the fog, making sure to not make a sound as it moved. Fear crept into Roddy's heart; she knew that this was it. She knew that this was the last time she'd see the beauties of the earth or the beauties of the colonies again. The fog-covered figure crept closer and reached out a hand to Relena's shoulder. She didn't even startle. She simply turned her head slowly and followed the arm up passed the shoulders to the face. Her expression changed. Hope refilled those eyes as her lips trembled as a single tear fell.

"Heero." 

****

Quatre Winner strolled the small marketplace looking at the various goods and wares that people had to offer. His favorite was a melon stand and he was slowly heading towards it. He noticed a jewelry stand close by and stopped to admire a small turquoise beaded ankh that was placed upon a cotton cloth. He breathed in the smell of his native land-the smell that his ancestors smelled. The smell of sand dunes and salty air filled his lungs and he exhaled and inhaled, closing his eyes to make his olfactory senses more acute. 

His reverent praise of the smell of his homeland was shattered by the sounds of a commotion coming from his favorite melon stand in the far corner of the marketplace. He scampered quickly towards the stand and as he got closer the sounds of screaming in his native tongue filled his ears.

 There seemed to be a woman, completely covered in a long cloak from head to toe being held for stealing. Unfortunately this earthly land, which seemed so civilized, urbane, and refined still held customs that were as antiquated as some of the ruins that lay around the city. The penalty for stealing, as if had been for the past couple of millennia, was amputation of the arm you stole with. This poor woman, whether she liked it or not, was going to pay the highest penalty. Quatre couldn't allow this to take place and quickly went to interfere in the commotion that ensued.

"Ms. Rehman, please, I will pay for whatever it is that this woman stole." He said. Ms. Rehman was a kind woman, one that loved Quatre immensely and trusted him by his word. She also knew that the gentle blonde was richer than a sultan.

"She was being real nasty about it, Quatre my dear. But you are the Desert Prince, in manners, wealth, and looks. I couldn't ever resist your offers, my dear. But, hear this, if I ever see this woman anywhere near my melon stand again, I will cut off her hand just for smelling the sweetness of my honeydew." Ms. Rehman was serious. Quatre shook her hand and paid her the money and was given the three melons that the woman had tried to steal earlier. The woman quickly scampered away into an alley. Quatre followed her quickly passed the many homeless and over to the other side, the recently acquired melons in hand as he pursued her. She was quick to be so small, like a rabbit, and she jumped over fallen garbage cans and quickly cut corners. But Quatre was faster as he began to catch up with her, melons in hand and all. She, unfortunately, ran herself into a dead end and Quatre grabbed her by the hood of her cloak, pulling it off her head and revealing the longest, thickest blonde hair that he'd ever seen. He knew this woman, but she wouldn't turn around. She simply fell to her knees in submission.

"Why did you have to chase me?" she asked, her voice husky sounding exhausted.

"You stole from a very good friend of mine." He walked to the front of her. It had been seven years, but her features hadn't changed much. She'd fixed those awful eyebrows and her face had softened to be extremely attractive. He almost dropped the melons he was cradling in his hands as a sharp memory of pain shot to his side. He winced and inhaled sharply but pulled himself together before she even noticed that he'd just had a flashback. Yet, there was something different about her, his heart could feel it.

"I had no other choice. I am a lowly street rat after all." She said under her wave of golden hair. Their eyes hadn't met thus far.

"What are you doing here, Dorothy?" he finally asked, the tension too high in the alleyway to even breath.

"So you do remember me? I'm here because I have no other place to go. I'm stealing because I have no other means of eating. I'm running from the oncoming storm. A storm that threatens to bring the tempest of war." She was always eloquent and poetic in speech. Almost too poetic.

"What are you talking about?" his eyes narrowed as he glared at the top of her head.

"Marimeia Khushrenada." She said, her eye finally meeting his. Ice blue met aquamarine in a serious gaze. Memories flashed back to both of them as they stared at one another silently. After a few seconds, Quatre offered her a hand and helped her stand. They quietly made their way back to the marketplace where they met Rashid and he took them back to the mansion.

Upon reaching Quatre's residence, Dorothy was shown to one of the many guest rooms and allowed a time to relax and freshen up. She was then offered dinner where she and Quatre ate together quietly, barely speaking to one another.

"I never thought I'd see you again," she said finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. He looked up from his plate and allowed his eyes to briefly meet with her before they both swiftly found other focal points.

"It's been seven years hasn't it?"

"Longer."

"What is this about Marimeia?" Quatre asked, "the only thing that I know about is the assassination attempt on Relena and they are saying that it was a small group of Democratic Representatives that had a hand in that."

"I disagree. About a week ago, Mariemeia and her small army invaded my town. I lived amongst some of Sanq's old money in a small area called Aurora Heights. This is where most of the high officials of politics and world leaders reside. She quietly took it over, killing each leader one by one. I knew I had to leave before she killed us all. So, I headed for the desert. I couldn't believe I made it through, but I had little money because somehow Marimeia has seized all of my financial accounts. So, here I am, penniless, homeless, and hopeless." She looked down from the table, obviously choked up about losing her home and money. Quatre almost felt sorry for her like he'd felt on the Libra. Dorothy had always had a special place in his heart, because he could feel that she wasn't as hard, callous and cruel as she let on. She, in his mind was as gentle as he was maybe more. 

Quatre stood up, picked up his food, and walked the long expanse to her side of the table. He sat down and placed a strong, supportive arm on her shoulder. The past Dorothy would have turned around and used her steak knife for a weapon. This Dorothy only sat there and allowed Quatre to comfort her.

"You can stay here for as long as you want, until everything with Marimeia blows over." She finally looked up into his eyes a look of thanks washing over the icy coldness that he'd received earlier.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked.

"Because that's just that way he is." A baritone voice sounded from the darkness of the room and both Dorothy and Quatre looked up in alarm. Out of the shadows emerged a taller, lither, handsomer Trowa. His hair was still auburn, but the ever-annoying bang was trimmed lower to reveal a handsome face and startling emerald green eyes.

"Trowa." Quatre said looking up from Dorothy and to his friend of old.

****

Duo Maxwell watched the utter commotion of the speech take place on the large vid-screen in the middle of downtown L2. People were standing around him and all, including him, were in shock at the assassination attempt on the Vice Foreign Minister. Duo lowered his head in disbelief. What did this mean for him? Did he have to return to the battlefield one more time? Or was this just a coup d'état that the Preventers would be able to sort out without the help of the former Gundam Pilots. It didn't help that the now peaceful Gundam Pilots were Gundam-less. 

He shrugged and turned away from the vid-screen hoping above all hopes that this was just a small coup d'état and would quickly be squashed. He was a civilian now and could cower away and forget about the past if he wanted to. After seven years, he had a right to forget about his horrible adolescence and live in peace as a scrap dealer on L2. 

He was carrying with him a small engine for a mini-cruiser to an old man that was rebuilding the earlier model and wanted a semi-new engine. He'd contacted Duo earlier that week and the scrap master had gotten quickly what the man wanted. Duo was now heading towards the man's car shop until he was stopped by a sight he hadn't seen in seven years.

It had to be her. She was almost the same height, a little taller maybe because she was wearing high heels. Her hair was longer down to her shoulders, but the same raven color, almost purple, and the eyes were the same crystal blue that he'd remembered. It had to be her, though she was dressed in a black skirt and a white shirt, something Duo had never seen her in. She was sitting in a café by herself reading a book that he couldn't discern. As soon as the waiter brought her the check, she paid and quickly left the establishment. It was cold today, cold enough for them both to be wearing jackets. As soon as she stepped out of the café, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a single identifying object- the raspberry beret. Duo knew instantly that it had to be Hilde.

She was walking fast, her stride rushed as she hurried towards a large subway station. Duo followed her, lugging the heavy engine with him as he did. Lucky for him she was stopped, she'd missed her train and would have to wait the customary fifteen minutes for the next one. She looked down at her watch, and up to the sky in frustration. Her face had grown more beautiful in the past seven years. She no longer had the small tomboyish figure that he'd remembered. She was fully a woman. She sat down on the metal bench and waited patiently for the next train to come. She reached into her black bag and pulled out the same novel that she'd been reading in the café- Slaughterhouse Five. 

"Is that a good book?" she'd been accosted by men in the subway station before and found it rather annoying. She also knew that the trick to getting them to go away was to ignore them at all cost. In turn her eyes didn't even budge from her novel as she tartly flipped the page and focused on the writing. Duo smiled at her and shook his head.

"Hilde?" he said her name in such a way that it reminded her of someone. It couldn't be. She looked up from her book and almost dropped it. It was.

"Duo." He looked different after seven years. Of course he was taller, reaching six feet, but his violet eyes were bright and though his face was not as round and youthful as it had been, he'd grown to be more handsome than she'd imagined. He'd also grown to have more girth than she'd expected. His handsome features were clearly seen by the lack of the bushy bangs. He'd obviously chopped off the braid and left his thick, chestnut hair to flow about his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I was being so rude, I just…" she tried to apologize but he stopped her.

"Understandable. You're looking good kid," he quickly searched her hand for any sign of a wedding ring. None.

"What are you doing at the subway?"

"Chasing you. I thought I saw you sitting in a café a few blocks back. It was confirmed when I saw the beret. I'm not used to seeing you like this."

"Things change after seven years, Duo." She said lowering her head as if she was remembering something horrible.

"What are you doing at the subway?" he asked.

"I'm trying to get back to work at the law firm of Johnson and Smith. I'm a secretary for Mr. Johnson, it pays well but I'm thinking about moving to another colony. Or maybe earth."

"I wouldn't do that. Earth seems to be in turmoil again. There was an assassination attempt on Relena. She's disappeared…"

"What does that mean for you?" she asked, a little more concern showing through in her voice than she would have like. She scooted over and offered him a seat next to her on the bench.

"Me? I don't know. I can only wait to be contacted. I don't know what I'd do if I had to fight again." He said taking the seat next to her.

"You'll fight. You'll fight for whatever it is that you believe in." her hand inadvertently went to his and their eyes met for the first time in this conversation. Violet and blue pierced into each other's hearts and minds, as they couldn't tear their eyes away form one another.

"I don't think I want to go to work anymore." Hilde said squeezing Duo's hand harder.

"Yeah, maybe we can get something to eat together if you want."

"I'd like that."

****

Wufei Chang sat at his desk in his Preventer office looking for ways to get around the upcoming catastrophe that he was sure was going to happen. Relena and Democratic Representative Roddy Adelphia were missing ever since the assassination attempt and Marimeia had just sent a note to Lady Une saying that she would declare war within forty-eight hours. He was sure that he could stop this before the fourteen-year-old spoiled brat made her second attempt to take over the world. Unfortunately, Preventer Intelligence was stumped as to her whereabouts and as to the whereabouts of the Vice Foreign Minister.

"Wufei, there is only one thing that we can be sure of." The sultry voice of Sally came from behind him. He turned in his chair and looked at her.

"And what is that?"

"War." She walked over to him and sat down in a chair next to his desk. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

"Then I have to get them then?" Wufei asked.

"They are our last hope. Marimeia has already taken over Aurora Heights." Wufei closed his eyes in frustration. He ran his hands through his short, cut hair and exhaled violently.

"Then I have no choice. I will start with Duo."

****

Marimeia Khushrenada stood at the window staring at the beautiful sunset. She smiled at the large picture of her father that grazed the wall next to the expanse of window.

"Lady Khushrenada, we are ready for you." a servant peaked their head into her room and said. With a worldly stance and more than cockiness in her stride she flicked her ruby locks and walked to the room where she would make her statement. The camera's rolled and every television signal, every vid-phone signal, every piece of technology was tapped into so that the world would know her plan. 

"My dear people of earth and the colonies- the reign of Relena Peacecraft has come to an end. Notice how she stays in hiding while her loyal followers wonder about her safety. She is less than a Pacifist she is a coward. I have come to say that in the past seven years no one has been beneficial under her tyrannical rule. I, Marimeia Khushrenada, stand here as the spokesperson for the Democratic Representatives and say that we declare war on Pacifism and all of it's autocracy."

The world watched as the words were spoken from her mouth, and five young men inhaled and exhaled together, knowing that they had another war to fight.


	2. Chapter 1

It had only been a few hours since a sniper had missed in his aim of her, but Relena was already starting to suspect people. She'd been running all day long, hoping that someone would see her and tell the world that she was okay. Yet, people didn't seem to notice, maybe because she was wrapped in a long black cloak that Heero had provided for her.

Now she was sitting on the last plane of the day headed for the desert. It was going to be a rather short flight from her current position in Sanq, but she felt worried that someone would spot her just the same. Roddy was sitting next to her, asleep and cuddling a petite pillow under her head next to the window. Heero was seated across from them facing Relena and reading a paper. It had been seven years and she was sure that no one would notice the elusive Heero Yuy, especially in his present state.

She looked him over, realizing that he was nose-deep in the paper and decided to examine how Heero had changed in the past seven years. He was taller; he wasn't overly tall, he was around six-foot. His hair was cut neatly, but he continued to keep the messy bangs that allowed him to contain some of the youth that he once had. His face was older, more masculine, and his eyes were softened somehow; his eyes were calm and loving, instead of the hardened chill they used to have. It was as if he'd finally let go of his past. And finally, he'd gotten rid of the damned spandex shorts and green T-shirt. He was actually clad in a gray business suit and tie; something that Relena never thought that she'd see him in.

"Is there something bothering you?" she heard him ask. She hadn't realized that while she was examining him, he was actually doing the same. She quickly looked away towards the window.

"No. Nothing is bothering me." She said quietly.

"You aren't afraid are you?" his voice was softer somehow; it was caring and loving.

"Heero why are you here?" she blurted out almost rudely. She looked into his eyes and saw that she'd hurt him. He lowered his head trying not to let her see his emotions.

"I knew that something was going to happen. I promised you that I'd always protect you." She turned away. So that's why he returned. Nothing had changed at all; he was still the same Heero. He was still the same man that he was seven years ago, always wanting to protect her and keep her from harm. She was foolish to think that he actually wanted to stop playing soldier and start playing house.

"Why are we going to the desert?" she asked, not revealing the contempt she held for him.

"Quatre lives there now. I haven't seen nor talked with him for seven years but I know that he'll take us in. No one will think to look for you in the middle of the desert. So don't let yourself be seen by anyone, especially people that seem suspicious." His voice was commanding but low and quiet. It was the voice that could command thousands of troops. They were silent for the rest of the plane ride, Relena thinking about the past and Heero concentrating on the future.

****

Dorothy stood on the regatta admiring the small oasis that Quatre had chosen to build his house in. It was lofty, an innate find, much like its owner. She walked down the stairs towards the small, natural pool and watched as the sun set over the waving palm trees. Only seven years of peace. How was it possible that things could go so wrong so quickly? It was human nature to forget- to forget about wars and arguments, to forget about deaths and the dead, to forget about the living- but was it human nature to forget so quickly? It was such a beautiful night, and such horrible, terrible things happened on beautiful nights. She let her blond hair down from the thick bun that she'd been wearing it in and allowed it to flow in the salty, humid air. She closed her eyes and accepted the beauty of the nature around her; this was probably going to be the last time that she was to have this peace.

"It's so beautiful out here." A statement from the gentle blonde that she knew had been watching her ever since she'd decided to step out here. She'd left him and Trowa alone to discuss some things and now Trowa had retired to his room for the night.

"Quite." She said, hoping that this would be the end of the conversation. The situation was uncomfortable to say the least. She didn't turn to look at him, but she heard his leather Oxfords slide against the concrete stair towards her. She could smell his annoying scent wafting towards her in the wind. He smelled like the sand and the salty wind and something distinctly male; he smelled like a hot desert night.

"It's too bad that people realize it too late, how beautiful the earth is." Dorothy commented almost shyly. She'd never said anything shyly. He was standing behind her now, which could be the reason for her inhibited actions.

"She's declared war on Relena." He said matter-of-factly as he walked passed her and towards a small, red flower that's color was quickly disappearing in the fading sunlight. Dorothy closed her eyes and shivered at his words: another war. Who would fight it? They couldn't; they were far too old and out of shape to even consider fighting in another war.

"What is going to happen now?" Dorothy asked; that seemed to be the question of the day. Quatre, being deemed speechless, shrugged his shoulders and picked the red flower from the ground.

"Change, maybe. I don't know." He handed the flower to Dorothy and she took it. She tried to smile at him, but it came out as a smirk. Only seven years had passed and he looked good. His face no longer held that cherubic innocence that once made him effeminate. Finally puberty had kicked in and given him more height and allowed him to grow a goatee. He allowed his blonde hair to grow a little so that it touched the collar of his shirt, and he wasn't as skinny as he'd been in the past. He was a full-grown man now; time seemed to change things and it had been a long time.

"You don't know? I thought that you were the brains behind the last mission ever planned against Marimeia. You mean to tell me that you don't know what to do?" Dorothy's eyes narrowed at him.

"It's been seven years, no one was prepared for this. Especially not me." He was angry; she could see it coming in his beautiful turquoise eyes.

"Endless waltz, the three beats of peace, war, and revolution. Take a guess as to which beat we're on now." She spat out and walked back towards the house.

"Do you want me to fight, Dorothy?" he yelled behind her.

"It's better than being complacent." She stopped and turned around.

"And what do you propose that I fight with?" he said, his hands on his hips in ultimate defiance.

"Your mind Quatre, use your mind to beat Marimeia." She opened the door to the house and went in leaving Quatre to watch as the sun disappeared into the night sky.

****

Duo opened the door to his apartment in the Industrial District of L2 with Hilde right behind him. He flicked the switch to the light and illuminated the otherwise gloomy room. Duo walked into his bedroom, taking his and Hilde's coat with him while Hilde found a comfortable seat on the couch.

"You're going to get fired." Duo said returning from his bedroom and walking into the kitchen preparing them both a cup of coffee. He entered the room with Hilde holding two mugs of warm coffee.

"No. They need me at the law firm." She said taking the offered cup.

"Besides, they wouldn't want to get rid of someone as beautiful as you," he said. She blushed and sipped her coffee cordially.

"You wanna watch some television?" he asked clicking on the TV and getting the face of Marimeia. Both of them stopped as they looked at the familiar face and listened to the familiar voice declare war. Hilde was speechless as she looked at Duo. She put her coffee on the table in front of her and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Duo looked away from the TV and over to Hilde who was weeping silently. He shut off the TV quickly.

"I suppose TV was a bad idea," he said wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a bit caught up. We've been so peaceful for so long." Hilde said clearing her throat and stopping the tears.

"I know. It was like a dream that shouldn't end. I wonder where Relena is? I wonder if she knows what that spoiled brat is up to?"

"I'm sure she knows, wherever she is. What are you going to do, Duo? Are you going to…" she couldn't even say the words. She didn't want him to fight; she'd lost him earlier to a war and finally found him again after seven years. She didn't want to lose him again.

"Do I hear concern?" he teased and lifted her chin with his forefinger. He was smiling down at her with that genuine grin and those radiant violent eyes.

"Cheer up kid." He said wiping the tears away that had started to fall again. There was a silence as he wiped them away, their eyes meeting and never parting. He wanted to kiss her and lifted her chin up so that he could do just that.

The moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. Duo looked at her apologetically and got up to open the door.

"You finally cut the damned braid." Wufei said standing in front of Duo. Duo smiled and pulled the Chinese man into an embrace.

"So did you," Duo said noticing that Wufei was without his customary ponytail. Wufei looked over Duo's shoulder and noticed that Hilde was sitting on the couch.

"Was I interrupting something?" 

"Uh…come in." Duo said stepping out of the way and allowing Wufei entrance. Duo introduced Hilde to Wufei and the Chinese man sat in one of the large chairs next to Duo's couch.

"I hope I don't have to explain to you what this is about." Wufei began, "I… we… the Preventers need your help in stopping this coup d'état. Marimeia is dangerous, and since we don't know where Relena is we need to take much caution as to what we do. This happened so suddenly that the Preventers didn't even get wind of it until after they attacked Aurora Heights, by then it was too late."

"They attacked Aurora Heights? That's where most of the world leaders reside."

"Now you see why I need you and everyone's help."

"Wufei we have no Gundams. We blew them up remember." Duo said standing up from the sofa.

"We have ourselves and our skills." Wufei said standing up behind him.

"Okay. Say you get me, I just can't do it by myself."

"Quatre and Trowa I'm sure will help." Wufei commented.

"What about Heero?" Duo asked.

"We haven't been able to find him. He only gets found when he wants to be found, you know that."

"We can't do it without him. He's the Perfect Soldier. I'm sure he's where ever Relena is." Duo looked up at Wufei with earnest eyes.

"Will you travel with me to the desert? I need to find Quatre and Trowa." Wufei said.

"Trowa is with the circus." Duo commented.

"I've already contacted Catherine. She said that he left early this morning… headed for the desert."

"Why the desert?" Hilde asked.

"Quatre has a home out there, it's the last place that anyone would think to look for anyone. Who in their right minds lives in the desert?" Duo answered, then a light bulb went on in his head. He looked up at Wufei with wide, expressive violet eyes.

"Heero and Relena are headed for Quatre's too. I'll go with you Wufei, let me pack my stuff." Duo jumped up and ran towards his room. Hilde followed him. She watched as he quickly and quietly threw a couple of shirts and pants into a duffle bag. One of the pieces of clothing looked awfully familiar; it was a priest outfit, complete with collar and along with the memorable hat. She inhaled with the memories those clothes brought, the memory of meeting Duo, holding him hostage, almost dying to help him. She'd only just found him again; she wouldn't let him get away from her any longer. She walked up behind him and embraced him around his chest, burying her face into his back.

"Hilde?" he asked, taking the small hands from his chest and turning around in her embrace. She looked up into his eyes defiantly.

"I'm going with you. I don't care what the risk." She said, her blue eyes filling with crystal tears.

"Hilde, you can't, it's too dang…" he was silenced by her lips on his, a simple, innocent kiss that he'd been waiting on for seven years. She was going with him and he didn't mind one bit.


	3. Chapter 2

Trowa was sitting in the solarium of Quatre's catching up on the latest fallacies of the morning news. In truth he was thinking about the war. He needed to contact Catherine and tell her that he'd made it to Quatre's okay. He'd left so suddenly that he knew she was undoubtedly worried. Now, he was dressed in a familiar green turtleneck and simple blue jeans, not as tight as they used to fit. He marveled at how they'd all grown, even Dorothy seemed different some how. Quatre was the one that had changed miraculously. The blonde, in his youth, had been innocent, saintly, almost naïve, but shrewd. Now, Quatre seemed distant and cold, worldly and pained. The poor man seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders and Trowa couldn't figure out why. Quatre possessed every material item that money could buy in the universe. He was housed well, fed even better, and lived in remote seclusion from the rest of the world and its problems. Quatre was, in a word, a hermit. 

Trowa noticed that his friend hadn't even offered to sit with him in the solarium. The old Quatre would have jumped at the chance to have tea and talk amongst the beauty of the morning sunrise. This Quatre, however, seemed to stay in his room away from people. Even when he was trying to reach out to Dorothy he was cold and aloof. The war affected them all differently and Trowa didn't want for Quatre, a once youthful and loving person, to become stoic and angry much like himself. He wished that fate to no one.

"Good morning Trowa," Quatre said standing in the doorway of the solarium. Not even a drop of sunlight glinted his flaxen locks. Trowa looked up from his paper and smirked.

"I see the headline is current." Quatre commented on the large picture of Marimeia with the headline reading "KHUSRENADA AT IT AGAIN."  He was still standing in the doorway of the solarium. Trowa looked at the headline of the paper and his eyes narrowed.

"It seems as if she took out Aurora Heights weeks ago. The Preventers didn't stand a chance; this was all planned from the get go. It almost makes me wonder when Wufei will be giving us a call." Trowa said mostly to himself than to Quatre.

"Wufei will not be able to find us here. I'm in the middle of the desert. And if he were to follow me, I'd…"

"You'd run like the coward you are." Dorothy said coming from behind him and walking into the solarium to join Trowa at the table. She poured herself a cup of coffee and started to eat a cheese Danish along with some cantaloupe.

"I'm no coward Dorothy, a coward is…"

"A person who runs from responsibility. You. You'd run if Wufei came knocking at that door. Your face says it. Everything about you says it, Quatre. You're afraid. You were always afraid." Dorothy hadn't stopped eating the delicious food on her plate and hadn't even looked up to see the way her words were affecting Quatre or Trowa. The confused blonde was seething with anger, his aquamarine eyes glowing translucent cobalt and his pale, ashen skin was a fiery crimson from the burning anger within him. He'd not yet come to sit with them, but had taken a step forward from the shadows so that the sunlight was barely grazing his toes. Trowa was more interested in the way Dorothy's words were affecting Quatre.  He looked deranged and frightened all at one time and he could tell that her words were undoubtedly true. She was hitting him to the core and she did it so unwittingly and truthfully. Quatre was scared, just like everyone else. Quatre didn't want to fight ever again, and would even come to hide in the desert, forsaking all of them even Trowa to have his seclusion from the reality of the world. He was in a place that still held the ancient marketplace and it's punishment and value system. Trowa, for the first time, realized what Dorothy already new, the desert was not a home to Quatre it was a sanctuary. The desert was a place where he wouldn't have to answer to anyone and he could run away into its sandy crevices if he wished.

"I'm not afraid of anything," his voice was low, a small low whisper that frightened Trowa. He'd heard this voice before- the Zero System.

"You aren't afraid? That's laughable. Your fear is evident. You choose a home that's surrounded by a wasteland, hoping never to be found by anyone. A place where they barely know a war took place, centuries and centuries behind the rest of the universe.  To be found by me, a person that you more than likely would never want to see again. How ironic. Running never solves anything Quatre, only courage and bravery, two things that you're lacking right now." She swallowed her coffee. Quatre stepped from the shadows into the sunlight, his eyes irate from the words she'd spoken. Dorothy looked up from her coffee, gave Quatre the once over, then brushed him off with a flick of her blonde hair.

"What do you know of war?" he asked, so calm that the smoothness and composure of his voice even caused shutters to run down Trowa's spine. Dorothy looked up at him in the eyes.

"I know that in war, there are two types of people. Those that give all and those that give up. Which one are you, Quatre?" With those words said she stood from the table and vanished down the shadowed hallway just as quickly as she'd arrived. With a defeated sigh, Quatre plopped down next to Trowa and began to eat silently. Trowa reveled in the silence and continued to read the paper. He'd gotten almost to the end of the article when Quatre finally decided to speak.

"That woman; she's so difficult." Trowa could tell that the blonde was mostly speaking to himself, but he decided to remark anyway.

"Well, she did stab you seven years ago. You wouldn't think that she'd changed completely." Quatre smiled widely at his friend.

"She's changed. I just don't know what about her has changed. We've all changed, Trowa, right down to the way we like our eggs. The peace has made us different." Quatre was silent for the rest of the breakfast. It was a strange silence to Trowa, a man that was used to living in utter silence. Trowa peaked down from the paper once or twice and peered at his friend; Quatre was completely lost in thought. To others it would have been a mystery as to what Quatre was thinking, but to Trowa, the blonde was an open book.

***

"You expect us to ride across the desert on those things?" Roddy eyed the camel then returned her stern gaze to Heero Yuy.

"It's only for three hours. We should reach the house before sundown." Heero remarked pulling three camels behind him. Relena had gone to purchase some things for the trek across the desert, which had left Roddy and Heero alone to get acquainted. 

"So you're the infamous Heero Yuy." She said eyeing him incredulously.

"Yeah." He said in his most dead monotone. She smirked at him then grabbed one of the three camels that he was dragging.

"You're in the doghouse with the VFM, huh? What did you do?" Roddy said petting her camel, whom she affectionately referred to as Habib.

"I don't believe that it's any of your business." Heero remarked.

"Suit yourself." She said turning her attentions back to Habib, "but anyone can tell that you and Relena have a thing for one another." Heero snorted in retort to her and started to water the other two camels that he had in his possession.

"Look what I bought for the trip," the soft voice of Relena was heard behind Heero. He turned and looked at her; she was dressed in a pale yellow, linen sari. Her head was covered and a large golden necklace incased her neck. She held up a deep green colored sari for Roddy and smiled. Roddy shook her head in defiance.

"I'm not wearing that." Roddy commented flatly.

"It's a lot cooler than the polyester suit. Besides, you'll feel better if you can get a change of clothes." Relena gave Roddy a winning smile and the woman accepted the sari in defeat.

"I suppose I should change then. I'll be right back." Roddy left the two to go change.

"I hope you were busy getting food and water supplies while you were out on your shopping spree." Heero chastised. Relena took the bag that she was holding in her hand and thrust it into Heero's chest fiercely.

"I got the damned supplies." She said underneath her breath, "So, how far do we have to go?" she asked as she quietly pet the camel.

"The woman at the melon stand said that he lives in an oasis about three hours away. She said that we should be there before nightfall." Heero said looking her in the eyes.

"It will be nice to see Quatre again. It's a pity that it has to be under these circumstances." Relena lowered her head in deep thought. Heero walked over to her trying to comfort her.

"I've failed my people Heero. I couldn't even provide the world with ten years of peace."

"No, but you've given us seven. Which is more than I can say for Treize, or any of the others that so wanted to ruin the world with battle. We've just got to get to Quatre. I'm sure that Trowa has already found him and that Wufei and Duo have already figured out where you are and where you're headed."

"I thought the Perfect Soldier didn't leave trails for people to follow." She looked at him with bemusement.

"He only leaves trails when he wants to be followed." Heero winked at her.

"Well, how do I look?!" Roddy asked, both turned to look at her. She to looked beautiful in her sari.

"Wonderful. Are we ready to go now?" Heero asked helping both women mount their camels and mounting his own.

"Yep. Now if I can only get mine to start." Roddy said aloud, kicking Habib trying to get him to move. Heero turned around and smirked; it was going to be a long day.

***

"Where is she!?" Marimeia screamed from her chair at the dining table. She picked up the daily newspaper and threw it towards Democratic Representative Shelby.

"Madame Khushrenada, the Vice Foreign Minister is on our TO DO list," Shelby replied as he caught the wayward newspaper.

"I don't need a damned TO DO list, Shelby, I need results!!!" She stood from the table and stalked down towards his seat.

"It's been three days since the assassination, which your people failed, and she still hasn't turned up. Not even a body."

"Just because we don't have a body, Madame, doesn't mean that we have to rule out her death." Shelby trembled slightly under the redhead's gaze, "besides, the bomb explosion ruined a lot of our chances of finding her body."

"Well, what of your wife, then, Shelby?" Marimeia asked calmly sipping her tea, trying to choke down some of the anger that she felt rising.

"Dorothy? She was killed, along with me, in our mysterious house explosion, though we haven't yet found her body" Shelby relaxed as Marimeia backed away and walked back towards her chair.

"So you mean to tell me that Relena Peacecraft hasn't been found nor your wife and you just want me to stay calm?" She walked steadily towards the chair and stopped, touching the red velvet armrest with her soft fingertips.

"N-no Madame." Shelby gulped.

"You incompetent bastard!!!" she screamed as she threw the chair into the pale blue walls with a crash, causing the chair to break into small pieces. She then walked over to those left over shards of wood and picked up a broken chair leg with a sharpened, pointed end and stalked towards Shelby.

"Now you listen, Shelby, and you listen good," she said as she pointed the sharpened wood as Shelby's neck, "you find those two women and you find them now! I've lost an insurrection before, I shan't, lose another. While you're at it, find me the five Gundam pilots. Start with Wufei Chang; invade Preventer Headquarters by no later than noon. You have four hours. Go!" she let him up from his chair and almost sprinted out of the room to give the command. Marimeia sat back in her chair and continued to sip her tea with an evil smile on her face.

****

Dorothy sat in the solarium all alone now. It was rather close to noon by the way the sun was hanging and beaming over the solarium. She was sipping tea and enjoying the warmth of the desert sun as she stared out of the windows into the void of sand dunes that surrounded Quatre's desert prison. She chuckled; that's how she'd come to think of this beautiful palace- as a prison. The beauty of the architecture could rival that of the Taj Mahal, but the manner and intensity to which it was built kept a curtain of negativity to hang about the home and it's owner. In this palace, there were no grand and royal colors, no sunlit rooms, only darkness. She sighed then laid her head back into the cushioned, nylon seats and closed her eyes.

"Back in the solarium, I see?" his voice was nice and calm.

"Trowa, I don't believe that you've spoken to me since you've been here. It's been three days." Dorothy said straightening up and somewhat tensing from the man's presence.

"This is important." He said sitting down in an adjacent chair. She'd noticed this about the usually silent former Gundam pilot, he only spoke when need be.

"Ah. It must be about Quatre."

"Yes. You seem to have some sort of hold over him, an understanding, dare a connection that I don't have with him any longer. I used to consider myself his best friend, now he's just so… so…"

"Stoic. I've noticed. I don't feel that strong of a connection to Quatre, but I am alarmed by his coldness. He used to be so gentle, now his heart has hardened."

"This may pose a problem. We're going to need him to plan the attack on Marimeia. He's such a good strategist," Trowa said looking out of the window.

"He's frightened, but of what? He's fought in wars before, without cowardice. Now, he's just so… scared." Dorothy said looking out of the window as well. Trowa turned his eyes to meet hers, but found the profile of blonde hair.

"You seem to know him extremely well." Trowa remarked. Dorothy turned and finally looked the man in the eyes.

"Seven years of marriage will allow you to learn the ways of men. Quatre is no different from any other man."

"Ah, yes, you were married. Democratic Representative Shelby. He was killed when your home was blown up in Aurora Heights, I'm sorry for your loss." Trowa said in a deadpan monotone.

"No need. I didn't even cry when his body was found."

"It's an amazement that you made it out alive." Trowa remarked.

"I can't help think that my husband had something to do with this Marimeia situation." Dorothy said as she and Trowa caught eyes.

"So you think that your husband was with Marimeia and somehow upset her?"

"He was a starch Democratic Representative, I wouldn't be surprised if he got involved with dirty dealings," a tear slid down her cheek as the thoughts and anger burning around her husband built into more welling tears. Trowa offered her a napkin from the table and she quickly wiped her tears away, blushing slightly from the embarrassment of being so vulnerable.

"You once told me that I was a woman that could not cry." She said, looking outside at the beautiful sand.

"I see that I was mistaken. You have really chan…" She put her hand up to stop his words.

"People don't change Trowa; they just realize what they have hidden inside. I will talk with Quatre and give him an offer that he will not be able to refuse. I've been where he is." Dorothy finished and stood from her chair and quickly scampered to her room. Trowa listened as her footsteps disappeared. Heavy steps quickly diminished into light pitter-patters then quickly faded away to nothing, and he was left to listen to the silence.


	4. Chapter 3

Duo, Wufei and Hilde stood at the Jeep rental place just a mile away from the Aucuon Desert. Hilde was presently pulling Duo around the market place, picking up various things for their trek across the desert to Quatre's place. She'd, of course, ran into a shop where she could buy a sari, and spent some of the money Wufei had given her and Duo for provisions and water on the most beautiful royal blue sari that the woman had. Duo thought that it was a pretty good purchase but wasn't sure that Wufei would be as amused. Wufei was presently bartering with the man at the Jeep rental place to give him a better price on a Range Rover; the man was currently declining all of Wufei's offers, which annoyed the already agitated Chinese to no end.

When he finally got the keys to the Range Rover (for only fifty dollars off the regular rental price after an hour of bartering) and found Duo and Hilde shopping for other things than provisions, all three finally set out to the middle of the Aucuon desert towards Quatre's personal oasis.

"I should have brought some sunscreen. What person in their right mind would live out in the desert?" Duo asked, wiping some sweat from his brow.

"That's why I bought this, I'm rather cool in this linen." Hilde said from the backseat of the Range Rover.

"Quatre is the baka who decided to move all the way out in the middle of nowhere." Wufei said, pushing his sunglasses higher on his nose and snorting.

"It's amazing that he can find his way without a compass. There's nothing for miles but sand dunes out here." Duo remarked.

"Well, he is the Desert Prince… I guess he's returned home to his natural habitat." Hilde quipped. The sound of Wufei's cell phone ringing stopped the chatter and Wufei quickly answered it.

"Wufei Chang." The Chinese man said into the phone.

"Wufei, she's taken over Preventer Headquarters. We've been completely ambushed and they've started to take the students and some of the soldiers into camps." Sally screamed over the sound of chaos and wreckage behind her voice.

"Don't tell her where I am. If she asks, go with the plan that we came up with. We cannot let her know where Relena is, and when you're finished, get rid of my cell phone number. Please, Sally, be strong." Wufei said, stopping the Range Rover in the middle of a sand dune. Duo and Hilde looked to one another then to the worry that was evident on Wufei's face.

"I'm going to stay here instead of evacuating; some of the soldiers are in need of medical assistance, I just can't leave them." She screamed. The sound of her call was breaking up quickly. Wufei's breath was quickening, but he tried to hide his worry from Duo and Hilde. He swallowed his emotions and turned on his soldier mode.

"Sally, we will be there. I promise. You just have to hold on, give us time."

"I…w-ill." The connection was ended and Wufei slowly took his phone from his ear. He slammed the small gadget against the steering wheel of the vehicle and cursed the heavens. Duo grabbed his arm forcefully, making him take control of himself.

"She'll be okay, Wufei. Sally is a damned good soldier. Right now, we need to focus on getting to Quatre's." Duo said as he got behind the wheel to drive and allow Wufei to compose himself.

****

The sand felt like sharp shards of glass as the wind blew it into Heero's face. He looked over in envy at Relena and Roddy's facial covers' wondering why he hadn't thought about getting a headdress. Instead he was left to suffer with chapped lips, slightly sunburned skin, and fairly burned retinas. They'd been walking through the desert for almost three hours and hadn't happened upon any signs of life. How could Quatre live like this? This was a question that was flowing through Heero's mind. The dangers and the excitement of the desert were easy enough to understand. Even the familiarity of home was reasonable, but the desolation from people, something that Quatre loved heartily, was what didn't fit. Why would he want to be secluded away from civilization? It was as if he was shunning the world away.

"Heero!" Relena shouted alerting him back to reality. He turned and squinted at her.

"I see something, in the distance over there." She pointed to a faint dark black dot. Heero turned back around and put a hand over his eyes to shade them from the sun, in hopes of seeing the figure clearly. The image was wavering like waves on a clear, blue sea or a gaseous substance being burned.

"Are you sure that's not a mirage; we are in the desert after all," Roddy spoke from behind them both.

"A mirage would have disappeared by now, that's an oasis." Heero said matter-of-factly and spurred his camel onward. Following suit, the two ladies spurred their camels and they rode as fast as the pachyderms could run.

Now that they were closing in on Quatre's house, it was getting in that was the problem. Quatre lived in an oasis, but the area was completely surrounded by a large, brick barrier and two Maguanacs stood guard out front.

Slowing his camel to a trot, Heero rode onwards towards the palace and stopped directly in front of the front entrance. The Maguanacs were obviously new because they did not recognize Heero at all.

"Who goes there?" one of the men asked.

"I'm Heero Yuy, I must see Quatre." Heero said, turning to see that Relena and Roddy had finally caught up with him and were dismounting their camels.

"He doesn't want visitors." A guard said stoically.

"I'm not a visitor, I'm an old friend." Heero tried to reason calmly, his monotone grumbling deeper.

"You don't live here, correct?" asked one of the guards. Heero narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Exactly, so that makes you a guest," the guard quipped. Heero, moving with cat-like precision, punched on guard, knocking him out and put the other in a chokehold.

"Let me in!" Heero growled.  Relena, seeing reason, stepped up quickly, putting a soft hand on Heero's shoulder.

"Let him go." She said calmly, her eyes not betraying the embarrassments she felt, "Heero you have to let him go, how are you going to explain to Quatre that you killed one of his guards." Roddy chuckled at this, which caused her to get a wayward scowl from Relena. Heero let the man go and the guard fell to the ground grasping for air. 

"Kind sir, I'm sorry for my friend's boisterousness, but you see this is extremely important. I'm Relena Dorlian-Peacecraft, the Vice Foreign Minister, and I need shelter because a crazed fourteen-year old is trying to kill me. There was an assassination attempt on my life and now I'm running from said fourteen-year-old. Having refuge in the desert is the smartest thing to do because no one will look for me here. Quatre is an old friend of Mr. Yuy, whose armpit you've already become acquainted with, and me. It's taken me three days to get here, and I had to almost be killed to do it, please, don't turn me away." A look of utter seriousness washed over Relena. She was sure that if he didn't say yes, she was going to allow Heero to continue to choke this man. The poor guard, once he'd listened and thought thoroughly about Relena's small speech and finally gained his voice back obliged the group of three and allowed them entry into Quatre's compound.

They were escorted through a series of smaller gates then finally to the front door, which the guards unlocked with a key that was connected to his linen pants. Inside the house there was an eerie quietness and darkness that didn't allow for much of anything. All three in the group stared at the tall ceilings in silence, waiting for Quatre to emerge from the shadows like the Phantom of the Opera or some other ominous figure.

"Wait here!" the guards bellowed and walked off to go get Quatre. Relena, feeling a great weight being lifted from her shoulders sulked down into the cushioned sofa in the foyer and removed her modest pumps.

"We finally made it through that damned desert." Roddy remarked, plopping down next to Relena, "what kind of idiot lived in the middle of the hottest desert on earth anyway?"

"I do." The group was startled by the voice of Quatre, who indeed did appear out of the darkness like a phantom. His face was solemn, nothing like the joyous Quatre that used to greet Relena; he didn't even smile at her. His eyes were angry, she could tell.

"Quatre." Relena spurted breathily, a smile curving her lips. She walked up to the blonde and embraced him strongly, having missed his joyous company for the past seven years. He brought his arms up weakly around her and from the hug turned his eyes to Heero, then to Roddy.

"I'm glad you're safe." He said quietly into her ear and stepped away from her embrace. Heero walked towards the two, a bit jealous that Relena hadn't hugged him that way. He quickly pushed those feelings aside when Quatre brought a hand up in a weak handshake.

"We need…" Heero began, but was abruptly cut off by a wave of Quatre's hand.

"Don't worry about it. I don't want Relena getting hurt at all, you can stay as long as you'd like."

"Aren't you going to ask how we found you?" Relena chimed in.

"It's Heero, there is no need to ask." Quatre smirked and winked at her, then turned his attentions to Roddy.

"Hi." She squeaked, feeling like the odd one out. 

"Who is this?" Quatre asked, turning to Relena and Heero.

"That is Democratic Representative Adelphia, from the L6 colony." Dorothy chimed in from the stair that was directly behind them. The group turned and looked at the blonde woman as she descended. Heero started to grumble under his breath, and Relena could almost see the steam of anger and confusion puffing from his ears.

"What is she doing here?" Heero asked, narrowing his eyes at Dorothy.

"I thought you were dead. The papers reported that you were killed in the explosion." Relena commented and walked up to Dorothy.

"I escaped barely, but Jonathan didn't make it out. I am a widow." Dorothy held her head low pushing back the tears then turned her attention back to Roddy.

"She saved my life, Quatre, that's why she's still here." Relena answered.

"She's a Democratic Representative, I don't think that she is trust worthy. They are the ones that are in together with Marimeia." Roddy narrowed her eyes at the blonde and clenched her fists as her sides.

"Are you saying that just because of my political affiliation that I am part of this melee?" she bit her lower lip in frustration almost to the point of drawing blood.

"We're just trying to be careful." Quatre said gently. Roddy walked up to him and stared him in the eye, deep hazel meeting aquamarine.

"Look," she began poking him in the stomach, "I may have different beliefs, but that doesn't mean that I don't respect yours. I would never want to cause harm to the Vice Foreign Minister. Keep in mind; if it weren't for my quick thinking, there would be no Relena. So don't judge me."

Quatre looked at her with wide, blue eyes and a smirk washed over his face.

"I'm sorry, you're right. But there are some things that we need to ask you. I suppose you and Relena would like to get changed first. Dinner will be ready around six. Rest." He sulked back into his corner and ordered Rashid to show his newest guest to their rooms.

***

Marimeia sat in her study nervously tapping her pen against the hard, oak desk. She had been receiving a report of her latest decree of martial law on the colonies every hour on the hour and the most recent was a bit late. She was also anxiously awaiting the report from the siege of Preventer headquarters and the apprehension of Wufei Chang. 

"My Lady," she heard Jonathan Shelby say from the door. She turned quickly in her leather chair and looked at him, balancing a small dagger in her fingers.

"I hope this is good news Shelby, I cannot abide bad." Her crystal blue eyes glowed and Shelby took a step forward.

"This is outrageously good news, my lady. First off, martial law has set in completely in all states on earth as well as on the colonies. Preventer HQ has been successfully taken over, though there is no sign of Chang. We did, however, find his long time companion Sally Po and we are holding her for questioning…"

Marimeia held her hand up quickly, stopping his report and looked the man over with her doubtful eyes.

"And what of the Vice Foreign Minister and her companion, Miss Adelphia?"

"Yes… well… we've yet to locate the whereabouts of those two ladies, but it is assumed that Relena is still alive."

"So, the bitch is running." The redhead got up from her chair and walked over to the large window that viewed the remnants of one of the most beautiful cities in Sanc.

"But, we do have a way to get Miss Adelphia back in the spotlight." Shelby said, this cause Marimeia to turn attentions back to the trembling man.

"I'm listening." She said turning away from the window.

"Let me tell you an interesting story that our investigators found out earlier today. I assure you that this will make you squeal in delight Lady Khushrenada."

"Yes, yes, get on with it, Shelby." Marimeia said with annoyance.

"Well, it so happens that about six years ago, a year after your famous, disastrous first rebellion a certain Miss Adelphia came to earth and fell in love with none other than ex-Gundam pilot Trowa Barton. In this same year they came to fall greatly in love and bear a child, who happens to not be with Miss Adelphia at this moment." Shelby smiled.

"Does Barton know about this child?" Marimeia asked.

"That is questionable, but our informative at the circus says that he left three days ago to an undisclosed location. Something tells me that this location is where we can find Peacecraft and Adelphia and the other thorns in our sides."

"So, where is this kid…"

"A six year old boy named Augustus Barton. She calls him Gus for short. He happens to be in our custody at the moment, we had to take him from the nanny that he was staying with while his mother attended the convention." Shelby smiled evilly.

"Good work, Shelby. Maybe you're not as incompetent as you appear to be. Now, be gone so that I can prep for my statement to ESUN, and bring the cute little Gus along." Marimeia smiled evilly as she watched Shelby leave the room. She then turned back to the window and looked over the shining city lights and smiled.

"Yes, yes, my dear Relena, you can run and you can hide but you cannot flee from me. I have eyes on you everywhere."


	5. Chapter 4

Whimpering from a frightening dream, Trowa awoke from his nap in the library. Pushing the large novel from his chest and stretching, he brought his mind back to reality and started to walk towards the door of the study. He faintly heard the chime of the grandfather clock in the hallway; it was six and that meant dinnertime in Quatre's world. He ran to the bathroom to wash his hands and hurried down the stairs towards the dining room.

Surprisingly the only person to meet him was Dorothy, she was sitting rather properly at the table politely waiting on everyone else to join her. She smirked at Trowa and he nodded in acknowledgment of her and sat on the opposite side facing Dorothy. A deathful silence fell upon them, so quiet that they could only hear the sounds of the crickets chirping outside from an open window.

"This is unlike Quatre to be late," Dorothy commented and poured herself some water from the crystal pitcher in the middle of the table. She took a slice of lemon and twisted the juice into the clear fluid and took a sip.

"Maybe you should go check on him." Trowa answered, mocking Dorothy's actions with the water.

"He seemed a bit upset about the arrival of Heero." Dorothy commented. Trowa looked up at her with wide eyes not realizing that Heero had arrived earlier that day. Dorothy smirked at his reaction, noting the surprise on his face.

"Ah yes, you wouldn't have known would you? They arrived while you were napping in the library, but they quickly retired after they got here, having been extremely tired from the trek across the desert. But he did say that dinner was at six, so he should be down here." Dorothy looked at her reflection in the glowing, silver knife and scoffed.

"I'll go check on him," Trowa said lowly and solemnly and left Dorothy to go get Quatre. He left the large dining room and walked back towards the wing of the mansion that held the bedrooms. Noticing a light on in the library, Trowa thought that it would be wise to go inside, thinking that it would be Quatre. He was wrong. When he walked into the library he laid eyes on a sight he'd not seen in six years.

"Trowa." Her voice was breathy, almost frightened. She sounded like she'd seen a ghost, an apparition from her past. She shook her head in disbelief and slowly proceeded towards him one foot in front of the other. 

The only thing that he could do was stand and stare at her. Never in his lifetime did he think that he'd see her again. Never in his lifetime did he think that his past would catch up so quickly and fluently. Yet, there she was standing in front of him; she was not a ghost, nor was she a skeleton, but she was real. This was not a dream or some strange desert fantasy or mirage; this was a true to life occurrence. Part of him wanted to run away, afraid of what she might do when she finally got close enough, the other part of him wanted to stay and hold her until they melted into one. He waited.

Her footsteps were creaking against the wooden floor, step by step, creak by melodic creak she stepped forward. Her eyes never left his. All the memories came flooding back from his green eyes. The day they met, the way they fell in love, the nights of tumultuous passion; the frantic nights of lovemaking, the burning needs and desires, the chaotic, frenzied, zealous love that they both shared. The memories of her nine months, the nights when he would lay his head on her stomach, kiss her belly, talk to the unborn child growing inside. Her little boy was no doubt confused and missing her while she was away on this long, dangerous journey. 

She was finally close to Trowa; his shadow was looming over her figure and their eyes never parted. She lifted her hand up to his face, tracing the contours of his jaw with the pads of her fingers. Her hand trailed down his jaw to his neck and down the strong, sturdy chest.

"Roddy," he said almost as breathily as she'd said his name. His eyes were deeply welled into her, his jade orbs holding the undivided attention of her hazel ones.

"Roddy… I," before he could speak, it seemed as if she moved in slow motion. He saw every movement, every motion, and every shift of every joint in her body. He saw her eyes modify from that of unconditional love to that of hurt and anger. He knew what was coming. Her hands balled into a tight fist, her arm lifted and with the force and speed of a Major League Baseball pitcher, she socked him in the eye.

Trowa reeled back form the blow, holding his eyes in utter pain; he was sure that a weak whimper escaped his lips as well. And there she was advancing on him. Before he could even protest to her pummeling him, there was a sidekick to the stomach and an elbow to the back. He fell to the ground, cradling his poor stomach and eye. He didn't even notice why the pain had stopped.

Quatre, upon hearing the commotion had come to his rescue, along with Heero and Relena who had pealed Roddy's emotional form from Trowa's aching one. Dorothy helped the large man from the floor to a green leather chair and Quatre ordered Rashid to get some ice and a few bandages. Relena was presently conversing with a sobbing Roddy and Heero was making sure that there was no more ruckus.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Quatre half yelled, half demanded.

"It's a long story." Trowa said spitting blood and putting a large towel-full of ice on his swollen eye.

"I have all night." Quatre said venomously looking at both people.

"He's a bastard!!!" Roddy yelled from the other side of the room. Relena held her back as much as she could, not knowing what the poor emotional woman was going to do next.

"Have you gone crazy Adelphia?" Dorothy asked, cleaning an open scratch that Trowa had received from Roddy's Princess-cut diamond ring.

"Me! He deserved everything that I did to him!!" she screamed, "Don't you Trowa?" she pushed Relena out of the way, grabbed Heero's gun and pointed it at Trowa's head.

" I told you she wasn't to be trusted." Quatre said, motioning to Rashid to get the Maguanac guards. Trowa put a strong hand up, telling Quatre to stop calling the guards.

"This has nothing to do with the present situation and Marimeia. I deserve everything she did to me. I am a bastard." He said through spits of blood.

"Tell them why, Trowa."

"She's my… my wife." 

****

"Hello?" Duo asked as he pushed his way through the heavy door of Quatre's estate. It was extremely dark inside the foyer and no one was presently guarding or answering any of the doors. Mysteriously, the front door of Quatre's palace had been left unattended and unlocked so Duo just pushed his way inside. Hilde and Wufei followed close behind awed at the vastness of the mansion. Duo finally stepped completely inside and Wufei shut the door and locked it behind them. 

"I wonder where everyone is?" Duo asked, scratching his head then placing his hands on his hips. He looked around and called again trying to get an answer. Complete silence. The quick flicker of a light on the West stair alarmed them to the presence of human life and they all trailed Duo as he quickly climbed the stair. Upon reaching the top of the stair and walking down a hall a bit towards the illuminated room, the group of three came upon a commotion. Stopping quickly, Duo listened to the voices coming from the library.

"What the hell is going on here?!" this sounded like Quatre's voice, though he hadn't heard it in seven years and it had gotten considerably deeper but it still held a tinge of the younger tenor that he once comprised.

"It's a long story." This was definitely Trowa's voice, it was still soft and calm, but something behind the voice held a deep-seated pain and fear that Duo was unfamiliar with in the usually confident man. Hilde and Wufei came behind Duo following his lead and listening to the conversation at hand.

"I have all night." Quatre again, he sounded berating and utterly agitated.

"He's a bastard!!!" a voice Duo hadn't ever heard before a woman indeed an angry one at that.

"Have you gone crazy Adelphia?" This voice was strange, it something he'd heard and an accent of the past but he couldn't quite place it. 

"Me! He deserved everything that I did to him, don't you Trowa?!!!" The woman was obviously angry with Trowa and after she spoke there was a definite struggle ending with the woman being in complete control. Duo readied himself to walk into an abrasive situation with any sign that the guys needed help.

" I told you she wasn't to be trusted." Quatre said again, agitation deep in his tone.

"This has nothing to do with the present situation and Marimeia. I deserve everything she did to me. I am a bastard." Trowa's voice was utterly calm, which in turn calmed both Duo and Wufei. They relaxed against the butter cream wall and let their heads fall backwards against it.

"Tell them why, Trowa." Duo heard the telltale click of a gun and the men both tensed again. Duo was ready to spring into action at any sign of weakness in the woman's voice. But what he heard next only allowed him to voice that he was standing outside of the door.

"She's my… my wife." Trowa said calmly with a bit of guilt tingeing his words. The group inhaled collectively and Roddy quickly dropped the gun to the floor and followed it down holding her hands to her sobbing face. Dorothy and Relena ran over to the crying woman and helped her stand so that they could walk her towards one of the many bedrooms. Quatre and Heero stayed in the library with Trowa. Quatre's cerulean eyes were filled with disappointment and Heero only snorted in response to Trowa's bleeding nose and bruised aching ribs. Quatre was about to speak but was cut-off quickly by the strong baritone of Duo.

"Quatre." Duo said turning the blonde's attention towards him.

"Duo, we were wondering when you'd make it," Quatre said sarcastically then he notice Wufei leaning against the library door, "you as well Wufei. I'm going to my room. Everyone, please, take full leave of my things." The blonde's eyes narrowed and he snorted as he walked away stalking bitterly towards his room.

"What was that all about?" Duo asked.

"Quatre is not himself any longer." Trowa answered. All eyes turned towards the auburn-haired man in question.

"It seems as if no one is themselves any longer." Wufei responded.

"Yeah man, you're married to a wife that can throw a right hook better than Heero. Who taught her how to punch because she really messed you up there pal." Duo said looking at the rapidly swelling purple bruise around Trowa's left eye.

"And the real messed up thing is that you don't even have a bang to cover it."

"Shut up Duo. I'm in no mood." Trowa said reclining onto the soft, brown leather sofa.

"So you got married," Heero said bringing them back to the earlier subject.

"Not only that, I have a kid. He should be about six years old by now."

"Shit Trowa, when did you have time to do all of this." Duo asked, running a shaky hand through the thick, chestnut waves of his hair.

"It's been seven years Duo, it only takes a second to have a kid and get married." Trowa picked up a towel full of ice and placed it on his black eye.

"Funny, I thought it took nine months." Duo said giving Trowa a sarcastic grin.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I think I'll follow Quatre's lead and go to bed. This has been an exhausting day." Trowa said walking towards the exit of the library.

"What about dinner guys?" Duo asked looking at his three friends.

"If you want dinner go downstairs and eat. I'm sure you won't be the only one enjoying the meal." Wufei said as he exited after Trowa.

"What about you Heero?" Duo asked, looking a bit upset that his friends didn't want to catch up on old times.

"I'm not hungry Duo." Heero said and exited down the dark corridor.

"We're never going to beat Marimeia if we're this disjointed." Duo said with a shrug and slouched down onto the leather sofa.


	6. Chapter 5

**Authors Notes:** Some people may not like this pairing, but I have to admit it does hold some fascination with me. There is a bit of citrus in this. I don't know how you would count it, but it's somewhere between a lime and a lemon (I guess you could call it a Limon). Other than that, please review, especially this part. It's not my first writing a sensual scene, but it is one of my favorites because the characters seem so needy. Okay, ::steps off her soap box:: thanks J

**Disclaimer:** Damn the Man, I don't own Gundam Wing

The house was dark. Everyone seemed to be sleeping or at least attempting sleep after the rather strange and hectic reunion. She couldn't sleep; something was bothering her. Maybe it was the strange deep-seated emotions in his eyes, or maybe it was just her female intuition, but her mind wouldn't stop racing. Then she heard it, the sound of faint music playing somewhere inside of this frightening compound. She got up from her bed, grabbed a silk robe and searched through the house for the music.

The house was intimidating at night. The way the darkness and the shadows played upon the walls. She felt as if she were in some kind of horror novel- the wind-blown heroine stupidly searching around the castle for the monster- but there were no monsters here; well no mythical monsters. There were, however, many skeletons among inhabitants of this compound. Even she held some secrets that she'd rather keep tidily locked away. She knew that this would never happen, that she would have to unlock her closet door and allow someone to see inside even just once.

Her feet seemed to lead the way having learned the rooms and obstacles so quickly in the past three days. She kept hearing the music, hoping that its lament wasn't a dream or some other figment of her imagination. Homes filled with ghosts such as this one tended to play tricks on one's mind. Her mind was the last thing that someone needed to trick. She was a strong woman, but she would freely admit that she was only one step away from being committed… again. 

Yes, she'd traveled down that road of insanity once, a few months after her encounter with Quatre on the Libra. She couldn't handle life without the war, having been all that she was taught during her childhood. Her paranoia, anger and bitterness caught up with her in the wonderful, terrible peace that settled in after Marimeia's first conflict. Wonderful because that's what the world needed, terrible for those in which war was all they new, what they lived for. It was those few months after the war that she was at her lowest and being so low forgot that life was important. 

Then she was in the hospital learning how to live again, how to love, how to cry. It took them more than a whole floor of therapist to convince her that she did deserve peace and that it was okay for her to be emotional for her to cry. But the one breakthrough she had was when she couldn't sleep one night, thinking about that time on the Libra and all the things that he'd said to her. She didn't understand until that night months and months after that confrontation; he saw her. He saw past her façade of harshness and looked deeply into her soul and pulled all the wonderful qualities that she'd forgotten she'd possessed. By thinking about his words and his unconditionally caring actions she learned how to love again and rejoined the land of human beings and reveled in the peace. She even married, which proved to be disastrous more than lucrative, and it wasn't entirely her husband's fault.

Deep in her mind she always remembered the kindness shown to her and felt as if she had a debt to repay. Her marriage suffered in love and in happiness because her mind wouldn't let go of one sole thing… Quatre. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but when Marimeia attacked her home she ran to where she knew he would be… the desert. She knew in her heart that he wouldn't have returned to L4, it was too loud and crowded for him. He was a natural soul, he loved the earth, the colonies were too manufactured, too artificial, too insincere. She also saw her expulsion from her home as emancipation; her husband's death hurt, but her freedom to run to Quatre and prove to him that she had the ability to love to accept, and that she'd healed was what she wanted. She wanted to thank him, to hold him, to love him, because she could now free of impediment and fear.

The closer she got to the music the more she realized that the mournful music was him. His violin sang through the heavy wooden door. She knew the song, it was Chopin and was usually accompanied by a piano, but the violin was the single most signifying sound in the room. Stepping towards the heavy oak doors she pushed it open, trying not to interrupt him. There was no problem; he was lost in his music. She slid herself through the crack of the door trying not to make a sound. She watched him; he was standing by the large window the violin poised under his chin, his eyes closed and tensed, his whole body tense as he stressed each note to clear perfection. The moonlight poured over him, dripping mournfully through the thin curtains and onto him, illuminating his pale skin and flaxen locks. Even at night there was no dark in this room, this was the only place in the whole house that held white curtains; the one place, she was sure, that brought him pleasure, which made him feel secure. 

He was alone, or so he thought; he was alone with his feelings, his anger, his resentment and confusion. He was alone. In a large crowd of people he could feel nothing but lonely and utterly despaired. He stood in the middle of his music room, the only place in the house that gleamed with innocence and purity. The white curtains that would dangle during the day and shine at night put him at ease and told stories of childlike happiness. Before there was war, anger, fighting, death, destruction there was his violin and his own personal world. When he was younger and he needed to get away he would wake up in the middle of the night, walk outside and play the same song over and over, Chopin. It was his favorite. If someone listened closely to it, they could feel his emotions through the notes that gentle rose from the violin. His heart and soul went into this song, more than that, everything he was enveloped itself inside of this one piece. He was the notes, the music, the instrument, the moonlight, the sadness. He was everything in that moment and no one could take that away from him. When he held his violin he was in control. When he played he was the master, the leader, the king. Through the music he was passionate, he was charming, he was handsome, he was brave, nostalgic, he had inner peace. His music offered him hope and support, faith when everything else was doubtful. The music spoke to him and he spoke to her, telling her a tale of his own soul, baring himself to the depths and not looking back. Shakily he drew the bow across the strings, drawing out one last solemn note, one last piece of himself. In that moment he was painfully aware of his loneliness of his depression. He felt the hot tears that had been sliding down his cheek during his musical elation. His eyes were clenched tight and the tears continued to fall as he clutched the violin to his chest. His breath was ragged, radiating like thunder in his ears as he tried to slow it. He was shaking from the emotions that wracked through him and he clutched himself falling to the ground and curling into a ball in the corner. He only felt the cool wall against his back and the thud of his violin as it hit the floor. He cried, a sob wracking his body as he shook and rocked back and forth in his own desolation.

All of sudden, warm arms were around his neck and smooth, warm lips against his own. He didn't dare open his eyes, lest this one kiss be a dream, some kind of vision that he couldn't bear to leave. Tighter he gripped the person, man or woman he cared not at that moment, he needed to feel this way. He only knew that someone had heard the music and understood his pain, understood him fully. The kiss ended and when the person pulled away he felt a loss a pain almost as bad as losing his violin. 

"Open your eyes," she said breathily. He leaned his head against the pale wall and opened his aquamarine eyes. They looked like the deepest depths of the sea; indigo, warm browns, green all swarmed together to create an emotion in his eyes. Fear, she could see it shimmer in his eyes. But what was he afraid of? 

His hand that had held the bow brushed the soft, pale flesh of her cheek, the pads of his course fingers brushing against her ear and through her blonde hair. He trailed his forefinger around her ear and down her neck lighter than butterfly wings fluttering across her skin. His hand, moving from neck down to her shoulder removed the silk robe, letting it slide down her creamy white shoulder. His touch became more demanding and he jerked her neck towards his and claimed her shoulder with his lips and teeth. He nipped slightly at white skin, leaving small pink marks in place of its flawless cream. 

She was heady, the feel of his lips on her neck and his hands navigating her body. She lifted her hands up to cradle his head, her thin, pale digits weaving through his flaxen locks and softly tugging his head up so that they're lips could meet again. Seeing the growing lust in her dusty blue eyes, he leaned in close his warm breath teasing against her lips. Shivers of lust ran down her spine and Quatre could feel the goose bumps form under his fingers. A smirk threatened his lips but he suppressed it, lest she think him smug for causing her shivers. He dipped his head down and took her lips in between his teeth nipping the full pink petals then soothing them with his tongue. She pulled away and lowered her head, lightly nipping and licking at the sensitive skin of his ear then traveling lower to his throat and sucking on the prominent Adam's apple. They both relaxed in each other's arms and Quatre lowered his head and took her lips in a searing kiss. Lips moving confidently against one another, tongues winding into each other's mouths, massaging, feeling, memorizing every inch of each other. 

Quatre's hands continued to work their way over every inch of her fevered skin. He massaged her back, stroked her hair and started to work on the black, satin bra that she was wearing. He wanted to see her. He felt the snap on the bra come a loose and let the hindering article drop to the floor. Without hesitation he stepped behind her, kissing her neck and slowly darting his tongue out as he did. He trailed his hands down from her face, the sides of her body and back up to cup her ample breasts. He pulled her back to his chest and she could feel his need pressing against her back. Her mind was cloudless; she could feel every sensation that he was giving her, every emotion he was expressing. He was treating her like the violin he'd played so lovingly, so adeptly, she was his newest piece and he wanted to make her sing lovely notes. He was in control and he knew it.  He massaged her breasts gentle, taking the coral-colored nipple between his thumb and forefinger and gently squeezing eliciting a moan from her kiss-swollen lips. He bent down and nipped at her ear lobe, darting his tongue in and out of the shell-shaped ball of nerves.

"Dorothy, you're so beautiful." He whispered into her ear then turned her head so that he could kiss her. He curved his left leg around the front of her body; tripping her into his arms and picking her half-naked form up and gently laid her on a green leather sofa. Her hot skin was cooled by the feel of baby-soft, green leather upon her back. She shivered in response to the temperature change, loving every bit of this moment, every sensation. She'd waited for the last seven years for this moment; she wasn't going to allow anything to slip away from her mind. The look in his eyes, the smell of his skin, the paleness of his flesh and hair were all imbedded in her brain. 

He was on top of her, his kisses everywhere on her body, burning her flesh with heated desire. His lips were soft on her neck, forceful on her lips, his teeth nipped her chin and ears and he bit her nipples eliciting moans of pleasure-pain. He kissed his way down her body stopping just to dip his tongue inside her 

navel and blow cool air over the wet residue his tongue left causing her more shivers. He nuzzled her stomach with his nose and lowered his head down to her thighs, sighting the creamy white flesh of the inside of her legs and slowly, lightly kissing her. She moaned as she felt soft lips glide inside her thigh, warmth breath teasing her. She ran her fingers through his thick blond locks and slightly pulled him up to see his face. Their lips met in another searing kiss, his tongue invading her mouth while his hands roamed over her body. She, in a passionate haze, assaulted his silk pajama shirt, attacking the buttons with fury and almost ripping the fine cloth from his body. She threw the tattered piece of clothing to the floor; it joined her silk robe and her black bra in small pile of clothes that would no doubt get larger. Her hands ran down the taut ridges of muscle in his abdomen and chest then to the strong muscles of his back, then back up to his head to deepen the kiss. He pulled back from the kiss and began the same trail down her body that he'd started earlier; his tongue trailed a line down the middle of her breast to her navel and stopped at the hem of her panties. Hooking his fingers into the black satin he pulled them down, her fragrance tinged his nostril spurring him on. Following his lead, she undid the silk tie of his pajama pants slowly and dipped her hand inside stroking him. He stopped her, gripping her wrists and placing them above her head. He removed his pants quickly throwing them into the pile and leaned over her dipping his neck down in a kiss. With one hand he held her wrist above her head, while the other stroked the sensitive ball of nerves that lay between her legs. A moan escaped her lips and she tried yanking her arms away but he held her strongly.  His mouth latched onto her nipple, his mouth sucking and his teeth nipping softly. He lifted his head to catch the moans of pleasure escaping her mouth. He looked down at her eyes, they were tightly closed and her head was thrown back in ecstasy, her newly freed hands gripped the leather of the couch and her nails were leaving scratch marks. She stiffened in his arms and let out a fevered sigh then she was perfectly still. 

Her breath was hard to catch; no man had ever made her feel this way or had taken his time to pleasure her with such intensity. Her eyes blinked open, like a newborn baby seeing the world for the first time and they landed upon the deepest, lust-ridden aquamarine eyes she'd ever seen. Both of them stared deeply at one another, each not able to fathom what had just taken place and what was about to happen.

"I love you, Quatre," her voice was no higher than a mouse whisper as she rubbed a stray blonde tress from his sweat-slicked forehead. He was supposed to smile, take her in his arms and make love to her for the rest of the night; this was not to happen. His expression changed and his eyes suddenly became distant the same stoic frown that he'd been wearing every since that first day of her arrival reappeared on his face. He got up from the couch and quickly pulled on his pajama pants and ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"Get out of here, Dorothy," he said searching frantically for his shirt. She sat up, her hair matted to her back and tears threatening her eyes. 

"What?" she asked trying to cover herself from shocked-embarrassment.

"I said, GET OUT! And cover yourself for Allah's sake!" he said grabbing a blanket from the sofa and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"But… I thought," tears were falling down her cheeks.

"Don't think anymore, just get out of here. Go back to bed. Don't think about this night ever again," he walked away from her and towards the window, picking up the previously forgotten violin. She stared at his back as he said those words and walked up behind him and put a nervous hand to his shoulder. He pulled away forcefully.

"Don't run from me, Quatre, I love you" she said. He turned around, dropping his violin back to the ground and grabbed her wrists. There was something frightful in his eyes a danger that she'd never seen in any man.

"I don't love you and I never will, so get that word off your tongue and the thoughts about us out of your head. Go to bed, your sniveling is nerve wracking." He let her go and she fell to her knees tears rushing down her face. He waltzed past her, picking up his prized violin and walked out of the door. 


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **After that last chapter being so heavy, I decided to pop out a chapter of something fun. Don't worry angst fans; this will soon turn back to a drama. I just simply needed a chapter away.

**Disclaimer:** Damn the Man! I don't own Gundam Wing!!!

Chapter 6

He was poised on the diving board, eyes as sharp as a hawk, squinted slightly to avoid contact with the sun. His breaths were even and slow and he was channeling all of his energy into his dive. He focused only on the water before him and took a deep breath. With all the strength he could muster, he bounced hard onto the springboard, allowed his body to fly through the air, stiffened himself into an arrow point and braced for the crash into the water. It was a perfect dive, one many athletes struggled to accomplish; it was a simple task for the Perfect Soldier.

His head popped from under the water and he swam back to the pool stair and pulled himself out of the pool. He stood up, grabbed his towel and shook his sopping wet hair into it. She was watching, hoping that he'd not noticed her observation of him. Actually, it all started as a simple viewing of Quatre's grounds, amazement in the beauty of the mansion, but ended up being an all out Heero drooling session. He'd decided to go for a swim while Relena was innocently admiring a Desert Finch; she'd forgotten all about the bird and turned her attention completely to Heero, who was only clad in thin, black spandex shorts. This was his fifth dive of the morning every one of them being perfect; but as much as Relena enjoyed the showing of Heero's athleticism, flexibility, and stamina (all points safely locked away in her mind for later use in a less public setting) she enjoyed mostly the way the water beaded off his tanned skin. Every droplet rolled down his body starting with his hair and ending somewhere around his ankles. She loved the way the wet spandex clung to his thighs and taut butt, the way his broad chest and shoulders heaved with every breath he took, but most of all she loved the intensity to which he took his dive. If only he would look at her that passionately, maybe if she were a diving board and water she'd get her wish.

With a sigh she leaned her head against her flattened palm and continued to watch the Heero show, knowing that she'd never be a star in it.

"Gods, Relena, he's just a man. It's not like you can't get one." She said shaking her head to clear the lusty thoughts that were creeping into her mind. A laugh from behind her startle her and she turned around. It was Hilde; she was smiling an innocent smile and biting her lip in effort not to laugh heartily at Relena.

"Relena if you stare at him any harder, your eyes are going to pop out of their sockets." Hilde commented. Relena jumped from her position at the window, trying to act as if she'd not been looking at Heero. She turned to Hilde and gave her a diplomatic smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Relena said in the most political voice she could muster. Hilde shook her head and clicked her tongue playfully.

"You can't lie worth shit, Relena. I know you were drooling over Heero. You're flushed and breathing heavily and I do believe I detect a hint of lust in your eyes." Hilde walked towards the window where Relena had quickly moved away from and glanced outside. She watched Heero repeat his earlier ritual before his dive and smirked.

"I don't blame you, he is… perfect." Hilde teased. Relena could only respond in a blush that crept from the top of her forehead to somewhere around her toes. A cute laugh was forced from Hilde's lips and she scampered toward a sofa and patted the empty space cueing Relena to come sit.

"I'm supposed to be angry with him." Relena said joining her on the sofa with a sigh.

"But you're not?" Hilde answered more than asked.

"Not at all. I just don't know how to react with him. I don't know what he wants from me, I don't even know what I want from him. I'm just… fucking confused." As soon as the explicative came from her lips she cupped her mouth in modesty. Hilde was just as shocked as Relena at the usually tactful Pacifists speech, and her peppercorn blue eyes were wide in surprise.

"I didn't know you had that in you." Hilde said with a chuckle.

"Neither did I. I hope I didn't offend you, I just don't know what came over me."

"Darling, I curse like a sailor, the f-word is like saying my name for me. So you have nothing to worry about."

"He just makes me so confused, Hilde, and this job, and the fact that people hate me, this is more than a twenty-three year old should have to put up with. I already found more than enough gray hairs and I think I'm starting to develop crow's feet. Crow's feet!!!" Relena was pointing to her eyes encouraging Hilde to look. All Hilde saw was some dark circles and a few frown lines, nothing as unsightly to youth as crow's feet.

"Relena, honey, calm down and tell me everything." Hilde said, taking Relena's pointer finger away from her eye and pulling it down to rest in hers on the sofa. Hilde gripped the small, sweaty hand in hers and squeezed it, trying to put Relena at ease.

"Hilde, there is too much to tell. My relationship with Heero is… complex."

"Couldn't be any more complex than that of me and Duo's or Roddy and Trowa's for that matter."

"At least you know Duo likes you. With Heero it's hard to tell, extremely hard."

"Relena, Heero can barely function without you."

"He's been functioning fine without my help for seven years." Relena said snorting.

"And you without his." Hilde smiled genuinely.

"I know, I know, it's just that I wish I could just talk to him… you see… I don't know." Hilde noticed that Relena's breath was quickening and her hands were shaking flustered. 

"Relena, you have to stop talking in jagged sentences. I know talking about Heero makes you nervous, but Gods, you're acting like you've slept with him." Hilde said flippantly with a snort. Upon hearing this, Relena's hand stiffened in Hilde's own appendage causing peppercorn blue eyes to meet powder blue in shock, humility, embarrassment and understanding. The silence was deafening, nothing was heard in the room but the chirping of the ever-present Desert Finch right outside of the window.

"Relena… I…"Relena put a hand up to silence Hilde's forthcoming words.

"We had one night together about five years ago when we were eighteen. I woke up the next morning with a note and a white rose next to my pillow and a breeze coming from my balcony; he was gone." Relena looked away from Hilde and lowered her head in embarrassment. Hilde saw tears start to well up in Relena's eyes and offered a handkerchief that she had grown accustom to carrying around.

"Oh, thank you." Relena said modestly taking the fabric and wiping her eyes.

"Relena, I understand that you're confused, but you must realize that this is what it's like to love a Gundam pilot. True, they aren't worth shit sometimes, but they do love us, in their own ways. Duo and I had a relationship that was based on need and pleasure. After the war, I realized that I didn't want to be needed and so did he so we bid each other Adieu. I was completely miserable for five years and when fate brought us back together on that subway terminal, I knew that I couldn't let this chance slip by me. You're angry with Heero because you think that he doesn't want to be in a deeper relationship with you; the boy has never, ever been good with emotions, so what makes you think that he's going to blurt out how he feels just like that?" Hilde gave Relena a grin.

"I just don't want to feel as if I've been wasting my seven years." Relena said thoughtfully.

" Relena, what's the point of waiting on him to make a move? Darling, if he's who you want, then go to him, take him, and never let him go." Hilde responded with a thoughtful nod towards the window.

"Babe!" the sound of Duo's voice boomed into the room from the door startling both parties.

"What is it Duo, is there something the matter?" Hilde asked, standing and walking over to her out of breath boyfriend.

"I was looking all over for you, I get nervous when you're not around." He said with a chaste kiss to the lips. Relena arched and eyebrow in mock jealousy then smiled.

"I'll excuse myself. Thanks for the talk Hilde." Relena said opening the door.

****

He'd been watching her during his dives. He wasn't able to keep his eyes off of her and tried to focus on her with strict intensity. The memories of the night those many years ago were zipping through his mind and left only thoughts of need and extreme want in their place. He didn't smoke so he decided to exercise. What better way to get rid of sexual tension than to take intense dives into frigid water? Only a few problems, 1) a heated pool, 2) Relena was standing at a second story window bird watching. Needless to say, his dives weren't the best he could do. Now she was gone from that window and he felt a part of his heart sadden at the loss. Maybe she'd be back soon, the bird was still chirping from what he could hear. 

He poised himself for another calmer dive, hoping that his little distraction wouldn't return in the middle of his concentration. He stretched lithely on the board, making sure that his joints weren't tight and closed his eyes in concentration. He took in a deep breath of the honeysuckle that grew in abundance around the pool and exhaled a shaky breath. He clenched and unclenched his hands and teeth and popped his strong neck to release some tension. Just when he was about to bounce on the springboard, he heard the sound of the pool gate open and closed. He opened one eye and peaked around, seeing if there was an intruder. No one; it must have been the wind. He braced himself to bounce, and the sound of a twig breaking caused him to stop. He opened both eyes and looked around. Relena.

She was standing in front of him wearing nothing but a smile and a lustful look in her eyes. He felt his whole body tingle and started to step away from the diving board. She put a hand up.

"No, don't mind me, continue to do what you were doing, I just thought I'd take a swim." She said nonchalantly and jumped into the pool. Her head popped out from under the water and her nakedness was once more concealed from his view. He cursed himself for not taking the earlier advantage. But, this was Relena's game and he wanted to see how far she would go.

"Relena, what are you doing?" he asked, getting from the diving board and walking over to the side where she was closest. She swam towards him and propped one arm up on the concrete while he crouched low to talk to her.

"Swimming. It's so hot here in the desert and my skin is taking a serious beating." She said with fake modesty. He lowered one hand to her and she grabbed and encircled the index finger with her tongue.

"Why are you naked?" he asked, a bit choked from the sensation of her tongue around his finger.

"I don't think you can handle the truth," she said in a sexy voice that sent shivers down his spine.

"Relena, it's broad daylight and you're skinny dipping." He said in a more reasonable voice.

"The last time I checked you weren't my father. I'm a grown woman," she said with a huff.

"I can see that," Heero said with a grin.

"You like what you see?" she said paddling away from him then back with a cute flourish.

"Relena, get out of the pool and put some clothes on." He offered her his hand and she took it.

"I think you need to come in and join me," with all the strength she could muster, she pulled Heero into the water with her and swam off before he could get his bearings. His head popped from under the water and he searched frantically for any signs of movement. There was a distant gurgle on the far side of the expansive pool and he started to walk slowly towards it. He was shocked to feel hands around his waist from behind pulling down his spandex shorts. He was even more shocked to see the black shorts floating next to him in the water. He was now as naked as she was. How did she get to be so good at stealth?

She played like this for the next twenty minutes, splashing in one corner to get his attention then quickly swimming towards him. She stole kisses, pinched and slapped his rear, it was an extremely entertaining game and it was making Heero more and more interested. This was the last time she was going to get the best of him. There was the telltale faint splash at one side of the pool, but this time Heero noticed a ripple going towards the eastern side. He faked towards the splash and as soon as he saw the ripple stop in one place he swam fiercely towards it. Relena, shocked at his discovery, started to swim away but was caught by her waist and pushed against the pool wall before she could even think.

"What is this all about?" he asked, his Prussian blue eyes dark with annoyance and tinted with lust.

"Just a little game, Heero, I just thought you could use a little fun. You're so serious sometimes."

"A game? How do you have time to think about a game with the past few days on you've been through?"

"Heero," her hand went up to move soggy chocolate bang from his face, "I don't want to think about that right now." She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself and leaned her head into his ear to whisper.

"Let's both not think about the war right now. Just think about me." She wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder pressing their bodies so tight that water could barely get through.

"Relena… I," he stuttered. She looked into his eyes and lifted a finger up to silence him.

"No sensibilities now, Heero. I love you." she looked into his blue eyes before she kissed him and there was a glint of happiness sparkling in them. She knew that he would probably never say those words back, but actions always spoke louder than words. The kiss that he gave her was all the affirmation that she needed. She was finally apart of the Heero show, maybe even a co-star.

**Auth. Notes:** Yeah, I know, sappy. But sometimes we all need a little sap.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Are these Author's Notes getting annoying? Just tell me. Though this chapter I do believe needs them. I'm back to my angst writing or dramatic writing, as I like to call it. After last chapters complete sap I needed to get to some angst. This is a Trowa chapter. I don't know why, but Trowa has become my favorite of the pilots but I find that he doesn't have any pairings. So it doesn't strike me as strange that Trowa would go off and do something like this after the war. I always saw Trowa as a few years older than the rest anyway. And Roddy, well she's a personification of myself (because I want to have Trowa's babies, hee hee). She is African or from the African colony (I wrote a story about her origins and I'll probably post it here soon) and I love her. Well, if I'm compelled to I'll write more after the chapter just enjoy and tell me what you think. 

A honeysuckle-tinged breeze rustled the white curtains of the library and floated over the inhabitant of the room. She was huddle on the sofa reading a boring novel and trying not to think about her present situation. Seven years, that was a long time to think, to revise, and decide. She'd done all three of those things and with a simple glance at her past, all revisions of who she was flew out of the curtain-laden window. With a disheartened sigh she closed the book and stretched her arms high over her head.

"What are you reading?" How could he even dare small talk with her after all this time? This went along with all of his other disrespects and insults, a pile that was too large and numerous to count. Annoyance twilled through her mind and she looked at him with narrowed hazel eyes.

"Why do you care?" her reply came in, what she thought sounded like a calm and collected demeanor. But when viewing his physical expressions and responses she realized that maybe her voice carried a bit more bite than she was used to.

"Right." He said under his breath and faked looking for a novel of his own to read. She, in turn, picked up her previously neglected book and started to read again, though she thought it boring as all hell. Quiet fell over the room, the faint breeze doing nothing but adding to the eerie discomfort that the room was carrying at the moment. He found himself a book, almost as thick as hers, and sat on the adjacent sofa and began to read. 

With aggravation she looked up from her present hardback and snorted causing him to look up from his. As soon as their eyes met they both, like school children, looked back down into the volumes. Within minutes, when she was sure that he was preoccupied with his own book, she glared back at him. He did the same but she feigned interest in her novel and turned the page loudly. This game continued for almost ten minutes until neither could take it any longer.

"What!" they both said in unison. There was a pause between the sentences.

"What do you mean what?" they both retorted. Another pause, causing them to catch their composure.

"I was just reading," again in unison both beginning be greatly annoyed with one another. 

"So, was I," unison.

"No you weren't, you were looking at me." Unison. This continued until they just both quieted down and stared at one another with frustration growing in both of their physical and mental presences. Both, not wanting for this little twist of fate to continue, took three deep breaths. Trowa, being the gentleman, held out his hand in a showy "you first," gesture and Roddy decided that she would speak.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, her voice gruff and maddened.

"I wanted a book. Besides, I just thought I let you know that dinner is almost ready."

"Since when do you care if I eat or not?" Roddy asked.

"Roddy, don't do this, it's not necessary."

"Not to you, but you weren't the one left the day before your baby was born, now were you?" she said standing from the sofa and for the second time towering over him.

"If you feel like hitting me again, then do it, though it solves nothing."

"It may not but it sure makes me feel a hell of a lot better to see you with a black eye." She threw the book at him and started towards the door.

"Roddy!" he called to her and she stopped with her hand poised on the knob.

"What Trowa?" she asked still staring at the black oak door that was in front of her.

"If this helps any, I'm sorry." He said looking at the back of her head. There was silence rolling over the room, the same silence that brought the discomfort. She turned away from the door and walked back over to the sofa and sat, her hazel eyes never leaving the apologetic gaze of his emerald ones.

"Okay, explain yourself," she said crossing her arms over her chest and sitting straight up on the sofa. The scene was not lost to Trowa; Roddy looked, to him, like a mother telling her child to explain why he'd taken a cookie from the cookie jar before dinner. She was utterly too calm. Her complete demeanor made Trowa squirm uncomfortably on his equally comfortable couch and caused him to be at a loss for words.

Suddenly it was rather stuffy in the breeze-laden room and Trowa tugged at the collar of his green button down linen shirt and cleared his throat. He'd never been a man of many words. Roddy, knowing this fact and having had extreme intimate moments with him, relished in the thought that he wasn't going to be able to fully explain his actions. Her body composure and facial expressions gave that away; she had a completely smug look on her face and golden sparkles in her eyes, which Trowa knew meant that she was victorious. With shaky hands and breaths, he began.

"When we married, you knew that I was afraid. You probably knew that more than I did, but you stayed with me."

"Did you not want to marry me, Trowa?" she asked, a bit of surprise forming in her hazel orbs.

"No, I always wanted to marry you. Ever since I saw you at the circus performance, I wanted you to bear my children."

"Then why did you…" a forefinger to her full lips stopped her speech and she sat back against the green leather.

"I was scared. My whole life I was a mercenary. I've known nothing but war and bitterness, and death, my whole life and when I met you I was so happy. I couldn't handle it, my mind was overloaded and I did the only knew how, I ran." His breaths were shallow and tears threatened his green eyes, but he held them back, Trowa wasn't accustomed to crying.

"You didn't think you deserved me?" she asked, shock laden in her voice.

"How could I? You were so good and loving, and perfect. I remember that day we met. You were wearing this green dress and your hair was up in a ponytail. You were standing waiting for my autograph and the first words you said to me were: "why the circus?" Your smile was winning and I couldn't help but talk to you and I talk to no one." He stopped; a tear had retreated from his eye and slipped down his cheek. She was stunned into silence. Those images of the first time they'd met rolled in her mind like a movie; she couldn't believe that he remembered that so clearly.

"My mind, the day I left was so clouded. I knew that you would be okay without me, you always were. I was afraid that I wouldn't be a good father, a good husband, or a good man. I guess in the end I wasn't. I went back to the circus and Catherine hated me. I was there for a year, and then I thought I'd come back to you. I tracked you down and you'd just started getting involved with the D.R. Party. You were campaign manager for Representative Healy, he lost but you got extreme recognition. I wasn't a part of your life anymore, it was only you and Augustus."

"You came back?"

"Yeah, I stood outside your door and listened to you sing our son to sleep. I wish I could have been there, watching you be a mother. It was then that I took off the ring and left it outside the door. I realized that I couldn't just waltz back into your life, so I decided to always make sure that you two were safe. I was going to be your guardian angel, which was the least I could do. So, I followed you, stalked you, to every city, every colony, every place that you and Gus moved. The white house with the water lilies out front, the loft apartment at the top of the Fenway office building, the small neighborhood on L1 that had a baseball field at the end of the block, and the last place where you live now the white house with the green shutters, with white lace curtains and a small cocker-spaniel that walks Gus to and from school." To any other woman, this information would be cause to run from the room and never look back, but to Roddy, it made her feel secure, safe, enduring. He'd followed her everywhere, he knew every detail but been too scared to ever knock on the door. She was shaking, and tears were washing down her face in shock and utter relief. Part of her mind said stop him from talking and hug him but her sensibilities took over; this was still the man that left her seven years ago, she needed more. So, she wiped her face and composed herself and looked at him with strong eyes.

"You followed me?" she asked, her voice hoarse from the crying and strain.

"Everywhere. I know everything about you. I know the day you cut your hair. I know the last guy you went out on a date with. I know the shower soap and shampoo that you use. I know that Gus's favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese and that the cocker spaniel's name is Ocean named so by Gus because she has one blue eye and one brown eye. I know that you don't like for Gus to stop at that park on his way back from school. I know that you just recently stopped wearing your wedding ring." She couldn't fight the tears, they fell too quickly for her to wipe away.

"Do you know that you're his favorite Gundam Pilot, that he loves the circus and clowns? Do you know that every time I look at him, I see you? He has green eyes and auburn hair and he smiles like you."

"Does he know, about us?"

"No." He gave her a tissue and she took it without hesitation, trying to compose herself again.

"I've talked with him." he said silently and she looked at him with confusion.

"What?" she said in a shocked whisper.

"He was walking from school and decided to play at the playground that you don't like him to play at. He was on the merry-go-round with the dog and I just walked up. He stopped, completely awed by me and I was equally amazed by him. We didn't say much and he told me to not tell you that I was at the playground. I guess I broke my promise." She looked at him with tear-soaked red eyes and an equally red nose. She shook her head and leapt from the couch and sprinted out of the door and down the hall towards her room. Trowa was after her, his long legs catching up to her short strides quickly. She reached her room and tried to slam the door, but his foot was in it before she could close it. He opened the door and was met with a slap to the face.

"Fuck you! How could you? For seven years I waited and waited thinking that you were gone or dead or… and you were right there!" She was screaming, the sound of her voice could be heard all over the house. She walked towards him, her fist flailing at his chest; his face was stoic and he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

"Roddy, I'm sorry." He said in a low whisper. She freed her hands and slapped him.

"I hate you!" she yelled, still hitting his chest with all of her will. His grip on her was tight and she struggled in his arms. He grabbed her hands and held them firmly trying to make her stop hitting him and she squirmed violently, hot tears streaming down her face and his.

"I'm sorry." He kept saying over and over again soothingly. These words became his mantra and he watched her struggle to be free of him. 

"I hate you," she said in a low whisper, her tears still falling, though slower this time.

"I love you." he said in a shaky breath his hand traced down her face and wiped away some stray tears.

"No, don't say that to me. It means nothing," she moved her face out of the way trying to avoid such an intimate touch.

"I'm sorry." He said again and she stopped struggling against him and laid her head in his chest. Her body became slack and he held her up against him as she cried.

"It was never because of you that I left, Roddy, it was always me. There were things I should have told you before I let it go too far, things about me that you never knew and that I should have told you. I'm so sorry." He stroked her hair and felt the warm wetness of her tears staining his shirt.

"Stop saying that." She said looking up from his chest, " I know you're sorry, but I can't forgive you." she stepped away from him and walked over to the door. He didn't say anything he just nodded and walked towards the door that she stood by.

"For so long, I thought you just didn't want me and that I wasn't good enough. So I tried to make myself the best I could. I don't hate you, Trowa. There is no way I could hate the father of my child. But I never want to see you again. I want you to forget about me and Gus. We are not your family, I am not your wife and he is not your child. We are the family you abandoned. We are dead to you." She stood at the door watching as his eyes turned from saddened to stoic. He closed the emerald orbs and inhaled deeply. When they opened again they were filled with hurt, regret and resolution. He bit back the anger and the pain, turned from Roddy and walked out of the opened door. 

She slammed the heavy wooden door behind her and leaned against it. She wrapped her small arms around her chest and slid down the outside of the door, instantly regretting her decision with Trowa.  Truthfully, she'd never stopped loving him, but she'd already made up her mind those years ago. Without him she was fine, without him she'd prospered, and she would keep succeeding without him.

**Author's Note: **My God this chapter is intense! Out of all the pilot's Trowa has the most skeletons in his closet. I know it seems pretty harsh for her to completely throw him from her life, but she's trying to be strong for herself and for her family. Don't worry, there is love there and ::sighs heavily:: love conquers all ::loves clichés and bats her eyes:: I think I have only a few more chapters until this is over, so enjoy it while it lasts. Besides, we want to see our guys happy.

  
  



	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**: In this chapter the shit had hit the fan. Things are starting to get back to the main story. Not a very good chapter in my opinion, but it does kind of start the forward motion. Of course, Review! Review! Review!!!!

**Disclaimer:** Damn The Man! I don't own Gundam Wing

Chapter 8

Marimeia stood at her vanity mirror smiling candidly; everything seemed to be working out fine. The plans were all in order, except the whereabouts of the five Gundam pilots and Relena Peacecraft. She's had her investigators check at the various places that the men worked during peacetime and they came back with nothing. No one knew that whereabouts and this was nerve wracking. A soft knock at her door tore her attention away from the mirror and she beckoned the person come in.

"My Lady, we have the young Barton with us just waiting to make a statement." It was Shelby and he was smiling from ear to ear. It was about time that he'd something right and getting the young love child of Roddy and Trowa was more than Marimeia could have asked for. What better bait for the usually stoic Gundam pilot.

"When do I make the statement?" she said in an almost childish voice, a frightening smile on her face.

"In less that fifteen minutes. The TV crew and cameras are all set up and waiting for you. You are the star of the hour, my lady."

"How do I look Shelby?" she asked, turning her attention back to the mirror and giving her appearance the once over.

"Like the leader of the new free world my lady. More mature and more beautiful than any other woman that has every ruled."

"Prettier than Peacecraft?"

"She has nothing on you, my lady." Shelby embellished. Marimeia smiled contentedly and turned back to face Shelby.

"I'm ready for my close up."

****

Roddy, Hilde, Duo, Quatre, and Trowa were wrapped around the old TV in the living room awaiting the speech from Democratic Representative headquarters. Of all the institutions that Marimeia had destroyed in her now, going on 120-hour reign she's decided to leave the media and all of its lies. She'd held more than seventeen press conferences since her first day coming to power and this was to be her state of the new nation, what she called the Free World Nation or FWN. 

The five watched the TV as the many Democratic Representatives set up for their leader. There was clapping and hand shaking and smiles plastered broadly on the various faces in the crowd. Roddy winced inwardly, thinking that she too could have been apart of this coup or could have been dead. Without further wait, Marimeia appeared on the screen followed by Representative Shelby and two other people, whom Trowa assumed were bodyguards by their dark suits and earphones. The young redhead was met with a loud roar of cheers that quickly died down when she stepped to the podium and was ready to speak.

"My fellow Representatives, we have come to a point where we have truly lived out the dream of our forefathers. Without little help we have removed all traces of the malicious, dangerous, even contagious Peacecraft regime. The only small problems that we have left are the Gundam pilots, who have contaminated our history with unaccustomed lies. We must ask ourselves, do we really want men who are trained killers to be considered war heroes for years to come? That is what the Peacecraft regime wants. These boys were taken from the streets and made into killers only to satisfy the lusty needs of the old regime and to combat our most wonderful leader Treize Khushrenada. Not only did they kill and ambush him, they brought Relena Peacecraft to power. I ask you, how can such a peaceful woman come to power by such unmerciful terms? She can't, this is why we are taking this back away from the Pacifist and into the right hands of the owners. We tolerate no substitution nor do we tolerate traitors like Roddy Aldephia." Marimeia motioned for them to bring Gus out into the forefront; Roddy took a deep breath almost so deep that she started to hyperventilate. 

"Roddy Adelphia, traitors are handled accordingly. Your son is here and waiting for you." A large smile spread across Marimeia's face and the transmission ended. Roddy stood quickly from her chair and ran up the stairs followed by Trowa. He caught her in the stairwell, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her flight.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, pushing his hands off of her.

"Calm down."

"Screw you, I'm going to get my son. I don't care what the risk."

"You can't, it's too dangerous."

"If I don't, then who will?" Tears threatened her eyes.

"I will." Trowa said calmly, "it's me she wants."

"What makes you think that I trust you?" Roddy asked, turning around and walking away. Trowa stood on the top of the stairwell and watched her leave. She was determined and he knew that she'd get herself killed, but she didn't want his help and he knew it. But he had to atone for how he'd wronged her, he had to forgive himself for how he'd hurt his family, he would help her get their son back.

****

Quatre had been standing outside of her door for more than ten minutes now. She hadn't come out since that night, taking her dinners in the room and avoiding him completely. Why was he here? Why was he standing here waiting to talk to someone that he couldn't possibly care about? She was in his mind haunting him like a pale ghoul. He couldn't sleep at night for thoughts of her, her kiss, her touch, her warmth, her words. She spoke to him of love, something he'd not thought about, ever. In war there was no love, only pain, at least for him that was true. When he looked around him he realized that he was the only one that hadn't found anyone, but that was not his trouble. He was troubled more deeply and scarred worse than any broken heart could imagine. His soul, there lay the hole that emptiness and he knew not why he was lonely, only that he was. He was bold, knocking on the door before he could convince himself otherwise. There was no answer. In an even bolder attempt, he pushed down on the door handle, testing the lock; it was open. He pushed the door open slowly, so as not to alarm her if she was in there. He inched inside of the room, closing the door behind him.

The room was cool and dark, pale, lace curtains flowing in the warm breeze of the open window. The room held a strange eeriness that he couldn't seem to shake. The room seemed haunted with doting pasts and frightening memories; a traumatized room, one of many in his mansion. The bed was made; crisp white sheets stretched tautly over a soft mattress and were covered by a soft, white, goose down comforter. The room had been emptied for some time. He walked over to the bed, sliding his hand over the tall, oak, bedposts and closing his eyes. His pale digits wrapped around the hardwood and he inhaled the scent of the room. Of course, the customary smell of honeysuckle that made its way into all desert homes was in full force in this room, but there was something more, something that he recognized. He walked over to the side of the bed, the side he knew that she'd slept on. His hand grazed the top of the soft comforter, feeling the velvety fabric sensually underneath his digits. He stopped and lowered himself onto the bed, engulfing her smell into his senses. She smelled like fresh ginger, a scent that he would have thought too pungent or too obscene on some women, but on Dorothy it was just right. 

The smell evoked memories of the night prior, when he'd smelled that scent personally; when he'd been swallowed up and almost drowned in her. He'd almost lost his sensibilities with her. The last time he'd lost his sensibilities, he'd destroyed a colony and couldn't forgive himself. He rolled over onto his stomach, and lay his head on her pillow, closing his eyes and envisioning the way she looked when she lay under him. He remembered her pale skin, her warm sighs, the feeling of her lips, and the taste of her. For the past few days he couldn't get her out his mind and he hated it. He curled up into a fetal position and tensed, trying to rid his mind of that sultry night. Once the images were gone, he opened his eyes, the illusion becoming a horizon line of white comforter. Yet, there was one thing that caught his eye, in this sea of white; a single, golden, strand of hair lay on the pillow next to him. He picked up the strand, holding it like it meant everything to him. He wanted to lay there forever, but he had to get out of her room, lest she come back and find him. Where was she? He hopped from the bed, straightening his slacks and the bed sheets back to perfection and started to exit the room. Before he could make it to the door, a small, white envelope caught his eye. The object was lying on the pine desk that was in the right corner of the room. His eyes narrowed and he walked towards the writing table and picked up the letter. The envelope had his name on it and was definitely her handwriting. He picked up the small, sterling silver letter opener and opened the letter:

_Dear Quatre,_

_My heart feels like lead when I look into your eyes and see nothing but sadness. I know that sadness, it used to burn within my heart like a raging forest fire. I've never told anyone this, but my encounter with you on the Libra was the single most changing moment of my life. In that moment I realized that I was inherently good and that I could be good and be strong at the same time. Kindness never means weakness, Quatre. The kind were put on this earth to help love and protect the weak. You too are inherently good and loving, by very nature you are. _

_When I see you, I see myself those seven years ago. After our first contact, I fell into a depression and had to be hospitalized. There were many times that I couldn't see how fortunate I was just to be alive after the war. I was so ashamed with my actions that I couldn't face anyone, not even myself. In this time, I took it upon myself to end my suffering. My vanity, being too much, I took a whole bottle of sleeping pills and washed it down with vodka; I didn't want to live. I couldn't live with all the things that I had done; I was alone. During my hospitalization, I started to realize my self-worth; through just a few small, kind, words I started to realize what you meant when you said that I was kind._

_It is a cruel world that treats the kind people coldly, causing their souls to dry up and die so that they can be just as cruel. I know what you're feeling now; you think that you have to be angry, that the world needs to be reckoned with. This is why you retreat, why you run and hid away form the world, in the desert, as a refuge. Don't hide Quatre, don't ever hide, you'll drive yourself crazy and end up be more miserable than you already are. Deep inside there is that gentle man left there inside of you; the man that the townspeople trust and love, the man that saved me from getting my hand chopped off, the man that plays his violin so purely, the man that kissed me and touched me with such innocent passion, I know he's still there. I know that he's there inside of you._

_By the time you read this letter, I'll be on my way back to Sanq to try and stop Marimeia. I believe in my heart that my husband is still alive, and though I do not love him near as much, I must seek him out. Know this, if you don't stop this woman, no one will. I am not encouraging you to fight; I'm just suggesting it. Your kindness may be foremost, but your will to live and your life spirit are even more powerful. I love you; always know that. Even when you think that you're alone and no one cares, know that someone, whether I'm living or dead, loves you._

_Dorothy_

_PS: __Everyone has a price that they're willing to pay for something, for that tranquility, that peace, what is your price?___

Quatre almost dropped the letter, gripping his heart, feeling the emotion that the words evoked. He'd thought that this part of him was gone, that his space heart had shriveled up and dropped away. It was only Dorothy that was able to bring this part of him back; she quickened his spirit, the one that he'd tried to repress for so long.


End file.
